The Marvel Games
by aliceindeepdarkwonderland
Summary: Hunger Games AU: In the future, life is different. There are 3 separate societies, and a tyrant government. After accepting an job online, Alexis gets entered into The Marvel Games. She must make allies and realise what the Games are before time runs out. Disclaimer: I only own Skye and Alexis
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: The Future

Tap; tap tapping away at my laptop. This is my life. Every moment I have, I write. It's my escape from reality, my lifeline. I weave tapestries of worlds I've never seen and never will; lands of heroes and villains. I put them on the internet, and become a hero hidden behind a mask, a hero of the web. If other people knew I did this, they would laugh, make fun of me. They don't understand what the past was like; what we're missing out on.

Our country, Facultas is run by The Government. They control every part of lives. There are rules in place over what jobs we can have, who we can have relationships with, be friends with. It doesn't matter what grades I get, I can only get jobs in cleaning, transport etc. because I live in the Fringes. I can never have relationship with someone from Society or Central, and I can never marry. Life often sucks in the Fringes. No one dares only defy The Government, because if you do, you're publically executed.

Our city, Orianna, which is the capital, is split into 3 parts, Central, Society and the Fringes. Central is where the rich, the famous and the popular live. They want for nothing, and have power over what happens. The government buildings are also located there, where the 'scum' can't affect what happens to our country. Society is where most people live, the middle class cereal box families who get straight A's and are content with their lives. Then you have the Fringes. This is where the criminals, the exiled and the poor live. It's also where I live. My father was exiled around 10 years back and because he was, the family was. Before we lived in Society and were all happy there; well, almost all. The stress of being exiled was too much for my mother; she killed herself about a year after, and killed the unborn son she was carrying. My father was left to raise me; he did a pretty good job actually. In Society he'd been a computer engineer, and after getting hold of a laptop somehow, he taught me all he knew.

People don't want thing to do with me because I live on the Fringes. At school, they either make fun of me, or completely ignore me. I might as well not exist, even though I get better grades them. I'm one of the best in my class at Science and Computing, no surprise there. I do pretty well in English as well, probably because of the amount I write. I can't wait till I can leave school because then, I can disappear. There are rumours of people who left Facultas escaped The Government. They were never heard of again.

To earn some extra money, I code for the Black Market. The Black Market is an online community who break the law, but a blind eye is turned to it. Quite often, we end up doing work for officials who don't want their superiors to know what they're working on. This is how I found out about the Marvel Games.

I was doing some work for a private dealer when I got a message, asking me to do some "special work". I took a quick look at it, and ignored it. If people want me to work for them, they have to state the type of work and the pay in their first message for me to even consider it. It also mentioned travel, which is out of the question. I kept on coding, but every day, at the same time I got the same message again and again, until I replied. I asked what the work involved and what the pay would be. The vendor replied, saying that I would be testing some new stimulation software, and then they told me the payment. My family's exile reversed. I was shocked. Did they have the power to do that? I went downstairs, and saw my dad sat in the kitchen.

"Dad, can I ask you a question?" I called out. He looked up and smiled at me.

"Course you can Alexis, you know you can ask me anything." I sat down opposite him.

"A vendor messaged me on the Market this morning offering me some testing work. The payment is the reversal of our exile." My dad drew in a deep breath.

"Have you accepted it yet?" He asked.

"I wanted to talk to you first. It involves traveling, and what if it's a hoax? I don't know Dad."

He didn't reply for a moment, and was deep in thought. "It's your choice Alexis. It's you who has to do the job, and is it really that bad here?"

I was split in two. I don't mind it here, but what if The Government gets a whiff?

"I'm going to go mull it over. Thanks Dad." I hugged him, and then ran upstairs. I reread the message multiple times, and checked the forums to see if anything like this was being offered to anyone else. There was. There was an advertisement for 15 people, 5 from the Fringes, 5 from Society and 5 from Central. I smirked at the advertisement for people from Central. Good luck with that.

I decided to take it, with 2 conditions. I got a deposit of 15,000 Libra, and my father was left alone until the job was finished. The vendor agreed and wired me the money straight away. I had to be at the South Fringe station tomorrow at 6.30 and if I was late, the agreement was over. I went downstairs and told my dad. He gave me a hug and told me no matter what happened I shouldn't regret my decision. I was already starting to. I went upstairs to pack. I was digging through one of my draws when I found a locket which belonged to my mother. It was a black oval, the kind that usually holds a picture. I'd never opened it, and wasn't planning to. I placed it round my neck and looked in the mirror to see what it looked like. It hung in the centre of my chest, pitch black against my pale skin. My long black hair hung round my face, only a shade darker than my eyes. I'd put some red and blue highlights in a couple of weeks back, and they were beginning to fade out. My lips were full, slightly too full for my face. Most people would call me striking, but I didn't think I was. I looked like my mother. I spun away from the mirror. I would never be her, never be that weak. I shoved all my stuff in my bag and looked round my room. The only thing that made it look like anyone lived in it was that there were comics everywhere. I found a stash of comics from before the 'The Fall' which were in good condition, and I couldn't bear to sell them. Along with my writing, they were my most precious thing, but I had to leave them.

I climbed out my window and sat on the roof, looking up at the stars. This is the last time I'm going to see these stars for a while, I thought. I lie back and close my eyes. Hopefully I'll be home soon. How little did I know?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N .1 Massive shoutout to Livin4Jesus, without whom this story wouldn't exist. Seriously, check them out!**

Chapter 2: Workmates

I'm in a big, white room and my fathers at the other end. He's tied up, begging for something but I can't hear what he's saying. A single gunshot ring out and my father slumps to the floor. I scream and run over to him but he's gone. I start to cry and realise my hands are suddenly covered in blood. I look back to where I was standing and see a gun. I killed my father.

I wake up in a cold sweat, silently screaming. The dream is my greatest fear, because my father is all the family I have left. I hope the vendor sticks to the deal, because they aren't the most trusted of people. If they could be trusted, why would they be trading through the Black Market?

I look out the window; it's sunrise. The sun paints a rich glow of orange and red across the sky. In some place supposedly, you can see every colour of the rainbow in the sunrise, where the night meets the day. What I would give to see it. I've tried to find someone who has, but they're practically impossible to find; just another ghost in the wind of The Government.

I roll out of bed and start to dress. I pulled on some black leggings, a black vest and grabbed my black leather jacket. I'd modified the weave of the clothing so it had increased durability; it was strong enough to deflect a bullet. On my wrists I placed two metal bracelets; when I flicked my wrists a knife would extend from each. I didn't know what my employers would be like, so I had to be prepared. I pulled my hair black into a ponytail, and placed my mother's locket round my neck. I grabbed my bag and went downstairs.

My father was waiting to say goodbye. He pulled me into a hug and we stayed like that for ages.

"I'm proud of you" he murmured into my hair. I nuzzled my head further into the hug then pulled back.

"I have to go dad, otherwise the deals off." He nodded. We both had tears streaming down our faces. We lifted our hands and touched, palm to palm. It was a Fringe custom, a sign of respect. I turned around and walked out the door, so I didn't end up missing the deal.

I arrived at the station with about half an hour to spare. I'd had to walk through the roughest parts of the Fringes, and that wasn't a pleasant experience. At one point one of the local gang members had tried to start a fight, but once I flashed my knives they weren't as big as they thought they were. I felt sorry for the guy; he looked like he was quite young. Gang culture was quite big round here; it was a form of escapism and a form of income. Even though it's dangerous, in some ways gangs are a safer form of income than the Black Market, because at least you know who's on your side.

I spot a ladder, and climb up onto one of the beams in the roof of the station. This way, I can see who turns up and they can only see me if they look up. The station hasn't been since before we got exiled; it's sometimes used as a hideout. There's also a rumour it's a way to get out of the city, although if you look at the track map it's almost impossible. The station is quite large, and has a large clock in the middle. As it chimed 6, it played the theme of The Government. We're never allowed to forget who's in charge.

After about 10 minutes, I spot some movement in one of the far corners. I crouch on the beam, getting ready to jump. After a few minutes, two people, a girl and a boy emerge. From the looks of their clothes, they're from Society. They go and sit on one of the benches. After a while, people start coming in; everyone from Central come at once. Central are allowed to go anywhere in the city, Society can go to the Fringes and people from the Fringes can't go anywhere. I suppose that's why they chose here to meet; otherwise they would have had to choose 3 different meeting places. I counted the people, and we were 1 person short. One thing I noticed was that everyone was under 18. Hmm. I looked up at the clock to check the time, and then I noticed a girl sitting on one of the figurines that moved when the clock strikes the hour. She was quite small, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She waved at me then disappeared inside the clock. She'd been wearing Society clothes, but she had a blue band on her arm, which meant that she'd committed a crime, just not one big enough to be sent to the Fringes. I wonder what it was. I shook my head and jumped down, shocking the people who'd been standing around. There were more boys than girls, by the looks of it there were 2 girls from Central, 2 from Society and me. They all stared at me (expect for all the Fringe boys who'd seen me do similar things in Sport ED, they just continued talking) until one of the boys from Central started clapping. He was quite tall, with brown-ish hair and chocolate eyes. He would have been considered quite handsome if it wasn't for the sneer plastered across his face.

"Well done, you can do a circus trick. It's amazing that a tassel can do anything." He taunted mockingly. One of the other Central boys, a tall lanky boy with neck length long hair who looked more like a Fringe than a Central, told him to shut up but he was shrugged off. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the wall. Central had come up with this stupid nickname, tassels, for people from the Fringes because the fringes of clothes have tassels on them. Shows what quality of brain power The Government has. The girl from the clock was standing on the edge of the crowd, talking to a girl from Society quietly. The boy from Central followed me and shoved me.

"I was talking to you tassel. You can't ignore me, I'm above you and you have to do as I say." I kept staring into distance. He slapped me. I stared at him, stepping forward into his face.

"You want me to do as you say so I will. I'll show you a trick, brutem fulmen." I kissed him. He wasn't expecting it, but he started to get into it. Once he was distracted enough, I flicked one of my wrists, and then drew the knife across his face, drawing blood. He jumped back, clutching his face. I wiped my mouth across my jacket sleeve to get the taste out of my mouth; he tasted like rotten eggs. He also smelt of roses, which was a bit odd. Central styles were weird.

"You bitch! How dare you do that to me?" He stormed forward, looking like he was going to attack me when a quiet but demanding voice echoed around the room.

"Children, stop fighting. You will have enough time to do that once we get to work" An old man was standing within the doors. I recognised him off the "This is your government" posters. His name was Alexander Pierce, and he was head of the military. What was he doing, collecting a bunch of kids for a testing job? I wondered. I had a quick look round and saw that almost everyone was staring at him in awe, all except the Clock Girl. She was staring at me. When she noticed that I was looking at her, she gave me a thumbs up and mouthed me a "well done". I smiled and turned back to Pierce. He was staring at me.

"Follow me my friends. We must get you ready." He turned and walked out the door. Since when were we his friends I thought. I stood there, letting everyone else go first. When the guy from Central walked past, he whispered "tassel meretrix" and wiped a finger with blood on it across my lips. As he walked off I muttered to myself, "Tu es stultior quam asinus, irramutor." I heard a laugh and looked up it. It was the Clock Girl.

"Orcea ita!" she said and I smiled. "I'm Skye" she said in her sing song voice. She walked up to me and put her hand up. How did she know that? I gingerly put my hand up to hers.

"I'm Alexis." I pulled my hand back and she grinned.

"We better go, otherwise we're gonna be left behind. I need this deal." She said and began to walk out the door. As she did, I saw that on her arm she had scars, lots of them. She also had a tattoo of a bird, a phoenix. I looked down at my arm, at my tattoo. It was one that most people from the Fringe get; another of our little customs.

She turned round when she got to the door and called out, "Come on!" I shook my head and jogged to catch up. I slammed the door behind me.

Once the door closed, silence settled into the room. After a few minutes, people started to emerge from the tunnels. They were all from different part of the city, but conversed easily, like they were all from the same. They formed a circle in the centre, and at the head stood a wrinkled old man. He hit his wooden staff on the floor once and the circle hushed down.

"I've gathered this circle here today to talk about what just happened."

A man raised his hand, and the elder gestured for him to talk.

"I think this year is our year. That girl, the one from the Fringes, she has fire within her."

"The one who hid in the clock is quite clever as well. They would make a good team." A woman said.

"What about the boy from Central? He's quite feisty." Another man said.

"No." A woman on the edge of the circle said, and the whole group turned to her. She had black hair, and deep brown eyes. Around her neck was a scar. "That boy is a bully. He would just do what The Government already does: control us. I suggest the one who tried to stop him." There was a murmur of agreement.

The elder nodded. "All in favour of the candidates suggested, raise your hand." The vote was a unanimous yes. "Also, we have had a message from Tony. He says they are ready, and that Nat has been nominated to mentor the candidates." A woman with fiery red hair smiled.

"Has anyone else got anything to say?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good, we will convene here tomorrow. Meeting finished." He slammed his staff down again, and everyone got up to leave.

Silence claimed the station again.

**A/N .2 so I had the chance to update again, so I did. I'll be updating this biweekly so I can write my other story at the same time. The foreign phrases in this are Latin, and are so are the place names. Here's a little dictionary:**

**Facultas-power**

**Orianna- she's a character in a legend (not sure if the legends Roman, I just liked the name)**

**Brutem fulmen-harmless lightening (she's saying he's full of empty threats)**

**Meretrix-prostitute**

**Tu es stultior quam asinus, irramutor-you are dumber than an ass, bastard**

**Orcae ita-Hell yeah**

**I think is the longest chapter I've ever wrote**

**Till next time, ciao peeps**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A small feeling of suspicion

The cars outside were fancy high class Central Bentleys; I'd never seen one except for on posters. We got into the cars in groups of 3, one Fringe, one Central and one Society, as directed by Pierce. As we got in I shot him a dirty look; I didn't trust him. I got into the last car with Skye and the lanky guy who'd tried to stop that leno from earlier. I was slightly grateful; at least he didn't try to egg him on. Sitting in the car was a woman with fiery red hair and cat like eyes. She was enchanting but obviously dangerous, like fire. A quick glance at her arm proved my thoughts, she was Fringe. The boy sat next to her, while Skye and I sat opposite her.

"Hello, my name is Miss Rushman, but you can call me Natalie." She sounded well educated, like that of a Central. Either she'd taught herself, or an exile from Central had taught her. "I am one of the programmers from Shield Incorporated, the company who have given you this wonderful opportunity." She sounded false, as if she was reading from a script. "Would you like to tell me your names?"

Skye, being the perky thing I was beginning to get to know her as, spoke first. "Well, I'm Skye, I'm 15 and I'm from Society." She then looked at me. I rolled my eyes.

"I'm Alexis and I'm a Fringe." That was all they were getting out of me. I looked at Natasha, expecting her to want more information, but she was looking down at her phone. Central tech, orcea she was confusing. The boy cleared his throat and she looked up quickly. Her mask had slipped, and on her face was a look of calculation and assessment. She looked round at us quickly, and then quickly slipped back into character. She gave us the falsest smile I'd ever seen.

"Please continue; it's important that we all get to know each other seeing as we'll be working very closely in the near future."

"Well, my names James but everyone calls me Bucky. I'm 17" A flash of recognition shot across Natalie's face.

"You're the one Steve asked to be employed aren't you?" Bucky nodded.

"He's by best friend. When he got the job he didn't want to leave me but this was his best job offer."

Natalie nodded. "Well it's great that you know someone else on the team."

We all settled into a slightly awkward silence. Natalie started messing about on her phone, and Skye kept staring out the window. Seeing as they can only go to the Fringes, Society's don't travel much. I looked over at Bucky and he was fiddling with a pendent of some sort. He saw me looking and quickly shoved it in his pocket.

"You're going to want these." I looked over and Natalie was handing out ear pieces. "I'm going to be your team manager, so I'll use these to contact you." I put in my ear. It was no different to wearing one headphone. Wonder if I can hack it to play music?

"So we're going to be a team?" Skye, not getting what Natalie was saying, asked.

"Yes you are. We decided to promote equality so each team has one person from each district." That was definitely a Central term. From the sounds of it we're going to be working in Central.

"So what is this job? We didn't really get much info when we applied." Bucky asked. It was a question that had been bouncing about in my mind, but I didn't want to ask.

"We're developing a new type on multi server program, and we needed 5 teams of testers. We came to the conclusion that having testers from different districts would provide a variation in the data." Natalie sounded like a preprogramed hologram. Something was off about the whole thing. Wonder if they have a server I could 'collect information from' (in other words hack)? Considering it was a programming job, they were surely going to give us access to laptops.

"What's the program for? And what has Pierce got to do with it? He's military, not software development. That's Mr Fury." I challenged her. Dad had made me learn the names of the politicians and what their roles are because, to put it in his words, it's best to know your enemies before they know you.

"Mr Pierce has requested this program to be developed for the military. Mr Fury has agreed for him to have control over the project."

The car rolled to a stop and Skye shouted out "We're here!" I looked out the window and saw a towering marble building.

"It's called The Centre." Natalie said. "It's the centre for all technology. Only the elite get to work here."

Skye had her face plastered to the window but Bucky and I held back. I looked him and mouthed "Something's not right". He nodded at me. A man opened the door and Skye fell out. Bucky and me laughed, him with a rich booming one, me with a small walrus-like chuckle. Natalie just smirked, and gracefully stepped over Skye who was lying on the floor. I jumped out and helped her up. She stood up and brushed off her knees.

"That was fun!" I grinned and ruffled her hair. Bucky clambered out of the door, he was a bit too tall to just slide out, and came and stood by us.

"Enjoy your trip?" he asked, and gave us a cheeky grin. Skye smiled back at him, and I just raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously? Is that the best you can do?"

Skye looked at me, frowning. "What do you mean the best you can do?"

Me and Bucky shared a look over her head.

"That was an extremely cheesy joke and it wasn't even funny." I said. Bucky blushed slightly. "Don't worry; I can't make jokes to save my life. I rely on sarcasm."

Natasha glared at us from up the pathway. "Come on, we have work to do."

We all looked at each other and ran up the steps. Behind us, we could hear some of the other groups arguing, especially the leno. From the sounds of it, he was picking on the Fringe from his group. I turned around and saw it was one of the boys, Peter from my science class. He was the best in our class and I was second. He was quite shy and couldn't stand up for himself very well. I debated just going inside but I couldn't let that bully get away with it. I stormed down the path and called out, "Oi, irrumator, back off!" He stopped his punch hallway and turned to me.

"Come back for more have you, meretrix? Didn't get enough earlier?" He began to walk towards me, walking like he owned the place.

"No I've come to give you some." I stepped forward and swung a punch at him. I heard his jaw crack and he fell back. I walked over to Peter, helped him up and then walked back to Skye and Bucky, who were whooping from the lobby. When I got there we all high fived and then looked guiltily at Natasha.

All she said was "Next time hit him where it hurts."

**Leno=pimp**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N So I have no idea what's going on with the title, it just sounds cool. Thanks to everyone for reviewing and following!**

**Ciao peeps**

Chapter 4: Solution to a problem of a solution

We followed Natalie into the lobby, and it was humongous. All around us were people scurrying around as if they were tiny mice. Above us were tens, maybe hundreds of walkways. By the looks of them, they were used by security and cleaning staff to get around quickly. In the centre of the lobby was the Shield Inc. logo, a bird with its wings coming down. It was simple and impressive, and obviously recognizable. Natalie continued past it and led us into an elevator. We all crowded in and as the doors began to close, a hand shoved through the doors. I pressed the open button and standing there, arms packed full of books was a medium sized man, with dishevelled brown hair and glasses slipping down his nose. He picked up one of his papers which had fallen on the floor, and stepped in the elevator. Bucky took a step closer to allow the man some room. Natalie nodded to him and he nodded back. It seemed to be a form of greeting around here; I think it's a Central thing.

"This is Dr Banner; he's one of the staff on the project you're going to be working on. Banner, this is Alexis, Skye and Bucky."

"It's nice to meet you. I would shake your hands, but as you can see, I have my hands full."

Bucky offered to carry some of the stuff, but Banner declined.

"What's your doctorate in Dr Banner?" I asked. I was curious to see what type, because why would they need a doctor on a job like this?"

"I'm a nuclear physicist, but I was asked to consult on some aspects of this project."

I was about to ask what the job had to do with nuclear science, but then the elevator pinged and the doors opened. It was Banner's floor. He walked out the doors, but stopped for a moment. Looking behind him, I could see the floor was one massive lab. If I could get access down here, I could have some fun.

"Are you taking them to the meeting later Nata-" Natalie shot him a quick look "-Natalie?" He looked really sheepish, and pushed his glasses up, as they had fallen down again.

"Yes, its compulsory remember? Also, don't forget we have the mentors meeting after. Stark said he had some new ideas to share with us."

"Great, well um see you later." He walked off, and Skye and I looked at each other. He obviously had a massive crush on Natalie. Talking of Natalie, why did Bruce falter with her name? My train of thought got interrupted by the elevator stopping at out floor. Natalie waltzed out into what looked to be a lounge and a kitchen. She sat down on one of the plush couches, and we followed suit.

"This is where you'll be staying for the duration of the job. You each have your own room with en-suite. I don't want to find out that any of you have been sleeping with each other, because this will compromise your ability to work as a team. There is a meeting with all the other teams, their mentors and Mr Pierce. He will explain what the job is, what you have to do and will answer any questions. I will give you your contracts now, so you have time to read through them. The meeting is casual dress, although I don't want too much skin showing; it's important that you make a good impression. Mr Pierce has kindly arranged for clothes to be put in your rooms, I hope you will show him respect at the meeting tonight." She was looking directly at me when she said that. Someone must have mentioned the station. Stercum**.**

She stood up and handed each of us a contract. "Please ensure your ear pieces are turned on. I will contact you with a ten minute reminder." She walked out the door and into the lift. We sat there and read through the contracts. I made sure to triple read the extremely small print. When I go back to my room, I'll check it over with ultraviolet light. That's one thing the Fringe's teaches you, you can never be too safe.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the contracts." Bucky said.

"I don't trust it. It's too good to be true." Skye said. I nodded.

I looked around the room and noticed 2 cameras. I got up and headed over to the one by the window.

"Guys have you seen the view?" I called out while rewiring the camera. It was a simple job; I just made the camera play a similar loop. I wandered over to do the same to the other camera. Once, it was done, I grabbed my laptop and booted it up. I had a program to check for software in the area, which would allow me to check for bugs. Till then, I'd just have to come up with random conversation.

"Why did you take the job?" It got to the log in page, and I quickly typed in my details. I had to enter 6 passwords, which took a while.

"I was offered redemption." Skye said. Bucky looked shocked, but I wasn't surprised. The blue band gave it away.

"I was offered money and the chance to get a good job." Bucky said. Seeing as he was Central, what else did he need? "Also I wanted to be close to Steve" he mumbled. I don't think Skye heard, she'd skipped over to the window, but I did. Finally, my laptop decided to get to the home page. I quickly set up the scan, it would take a couple of hours but it would do the whole building while it was at it.

"What about you Alexis?" He asked.

"Hmm, what?" I'd zoned out for a moment.

"Why did you take the job?" Bucky asked again.

"Oh, same as Skye." I didn't want to elaborate.

"Guys, shall we get settled in? That way, we won't have to after the meeting." Skye said. Bucky and I nodded, and we all wandered into a room. Mine was painted red, with black bedding. It had an ebony desk and drawers, and a wall sized window which looked out onto the city. On a clear day like today, I had to admit it was beautiful, like a city made of gold and ivory. I felt bitter though, that they could have all this and the Fringes are falling apart. I suppose that's the problem with human beings, our way of surviving is to be selfish. I sat down on the bed and thought of my father. By now, he'd probably be going to work. He'd managed to find a job working as a teacher in the school I used to go to, which brought in money, and the kids love him.

I passed the time by putting my stuff away and looking round our floor. From what I could gather, we were on about the 50th floor, and we had a kitchen, living room, 3 bedrooms and a storage cupboard. The kitchen cupboards had all sorts of food in them, most of which I've never seen before. Bucky saw me trying to work out what this brown paste, which he called 'Nutella', was, so he tried to teach me. I found out I love popcorn and this pick fluffy stuff called candyfloss, which Skye tells me is basically whipped sugar. When Natalie gave us the 10 minute warning, I changed into a pair of black jeans and a semi-tight black top, and chose a pair of soft black leather hunting boots. I quickly checked my laptop and it showed that there were at least 5 bugs in my room alone, and around 20 in the meeting room. I'd have to disable the ones in here tomorrow. We all got into the lift and headed to the 13th floor, which we were told was the meeting room.

The doors opened to reveal a silver room with a massive table at one end of the room, and then 5 smaller tables to seat 3 scattered round the room. We were the first team there, so I walked over to the table partially hidden in the darkness. I sat in the shadows, which meant that I could see all round the room and people couldn't really see me. Natalie was standing next to the big table, talking to a group of 5 men, which included Dr Banner. When she saw all of us sit down, she walked over, and the men followed.

"Alexis, Bucky, Skye, I would like you to meet the other mentors." A blond man grinned at Bucky, and Bucky all but beamed back at him. That was obviously Steve. There was another tall man with straggly blond hair, a short man with a glowing chest, and a man with short brown hair and a pair of sunglasses on, even though we were inside.

"Clinton, take your glasses off for orcae sake. We're inside, in case you haven't noticed." Natalie said to the man. He reluctantly took them off, but only after a staring match with Natalie.

"So, here we have Steve Rogers, Tony Stark-"

"Rich kid who can sass your ass" The short glowing guy, who I guessed was Tony said.

"Thor Odinson-"

"Tis my pleasure" said the large straggly haired man.

"Oh for god's sake, he had to be an English major didn't he?" Tony muttered.

"Bruce Banner, who you've met, and Clinton Barton."

""Clint, Nat, Clint, how many times do I have to tell you?" Clint said, and gained himself a head slap.

"They may be mentoring the other teams, but if they're around and I'm not, feel free to ask them questions. Bruce is not a mentor, but he will offer guidance if asked."

"We're here to help, although some may be more competitive than others." Steve said, and Tony grinned.

Some of the other teams decided to file in then, so the mentors dispersed to collect their teams. Before he left, Steve winked at Bucky and tapped his pocket. Bucky then tapped his. Hmm, I thought, inside joke me think.

Once everyone had settled down, the mentors went and sat at the head table. Alexander Pierce, then walked in, and we all politely clapped. He sat down in the centre of the head table and began to speak into the mike.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I take it you've all settled in well." There was a murmur of people agreeing around the room. "If there are any problems, tell your mentor and they will resolve it as soon as possible."

"Now, on to the project in hand. You have been selected to trial a military training stimulator. If it passes testing, it will be used to train soldiers in case of an attack." An attack from what? I thought.

"The stimulator is programmed to give different scenarios. Over a course of a few weeks, you will compete against each other to get the most points. Throughout the game, you will have to 'destroy' your opponents in any way possible. You will be using a 3D stimulation system, which will allow you to move around as if you were actually within the program. Are there any questions?"

I raised my hand. He pointed at me.

"Why are you using kids, and ones you found on the Black Market as well? Why not use soldiers seeing as that's who the program is aimed for?"

"Alexis-" Natalie said in a warning tone, but Pierce cut her off.

"No Natalie, she has a good point. Children think in more creative ways to adults, so would find holes within the stimulation better. If we used trained soldiers, they'd know the drills which would defy the point of the exercise. None of you have had any official military training, so are going in there blind. The reason we chose Black Market workers is because you all have more knowledge of computing and coding, which will allow you find problems easier. Anyone else?" No one else raised their hands.

"Fine then. Breakfast will be at 8, and the first round of the stimulation begins at 10. Please wear the training clothes that have been hung in your cupboard. You are dismissed."

As soon as he said that, I leapt out my chair and headed for the door. I didn't want to spend any more time in his presence. I couldn't be bothered waiting for the elevator so I started to take the stairs. I also didn't want to have another run in with that irrumator again. When I got to about the 30th floor, Natasha started talking through my ear piece.

"Well done Alexis, that question was a valid one. Remember, Pierce isn't who you think he is, and neither am I, or any of the mentors for that fact. When you enter the stimulation head for cover and be inventive. Look for glitches that might be hidden, they're not what they seem."

In the background I could hear the other mentors and Bruce.

"Tell her to look into the files on the server. She can obviously hack them"

"Did you hear Tony, Alexis?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, I did."

"Good. deos memores fandi atque somno, parate vos ad voluntatem"

"Et tu." I said and then all I could here was static. I entered our floor and locked the door to my room. I opened my laptop and went onto the Shield Inc server. What I found was unbelievable.

**Stercum- shit**

**deos memores fandi atque somno, parate vos ad voluntatem- may the gods watch your sleep, and prepare you for their will**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Quick fights

I looked through the files on the server. _The Marvel Games_was at the top, and the edited dated said it had only been edited a few hours ago. I clicked on it and opened it.

_The Marvel Games initiative is in full effect! Fun entertainment for the entire family, streamed daily! For the past two years, the games have gained an underground following and are becoming more popular. Consisting of 15 unaware contestants in 5 teams they have to fight to the death within real life effect stimulation. In the past two years we have had a team of 2, and one of 3 win. Previous winners and their status can be accessed here:_

I scanned through the text on what was obviously an advertisement for the games. Everything sounded similar to what our job was….. I got to the end and opened the link to see the previous winners. To my shock I knew them.

_Natalia Romanova, a.k.a Natasha Romanoff. Status: Previously Fringe, currently Central. Won 1st__games_

_Clinton Barton, a.k.a Clint Barton. Status: Previously Society, currently Central. Won 1st__games along with Natalia Romanova_

_Anthony Stark, a.k.a Tony Stark. Status: Born Central, won 2nd__games_

_Steven Rodgers, a.k.a Steve Rodgers. Status: Previously Fringe, currently Central. Won 2nd__games along with Tony Stark and Thor Odinson_

_Thor Odinson. Status: Previously Society, currently Central. Won 1st__games along with Antony Stark and Steven Rodgers_

Alongside each of them was a picture. It was Natalie, Clint, Tony, Steve and Thor. We'd been tricked. I slammed the laptop closed, nearly snapping it. I had to get out of here, what if they did something to my father? The games were to the death, why did the hell did I take this job? Thought were running through my head at a thousand miles per hour.

"I see you read the files then." Natalie's, or should I say Natalia's, cool calm voice came across the ear piece.

"What the hell is this? I want out." I spat out. I flicked the lid back up and opened the Black Market. I needed to see if I could find anything out about the vendor I went through.

"I'm sorry Alexis but that's impossible. If you leave then Pierce would know something is wrong." She did actually sound apologetic.

"Natalia-"

"Don't call me that unless you've disabled the bugs." She hissed. I rolled my eyes and got up. One by one I disabled the bugs, weaselling them out of their hiding places using a knife that was next to the (ornamental, may I add) fruit bowl.

"There NATALIA, they're disabled. Now explain or I'm walking out right now."

"Fine. For the past 2 years, Pierce has tricked kids into the games by offering a job they can't turn down. They're oblivious of what's happening, until they get out the stimulation at the end of the game and realize they've killed people, some of whom they've known since they were children." She sounded extremely bitter as she said the last line. I wonder who she killed.

"Is there any way of beating the system?" I clicked on to the vendor and started running scans to trace it. Even though I knew they were from Shield, I needed to know who put the offer up, so if I ever met them I could kill them. I meant it.

"No. We've tried, we even made sure that in the second year we had a computer genius in the games." I'm guessing that was Tony. I don't think Thor would know how to work a computer. "This year me and Clint made sure Bruce was employed on the science advisory staff to see if he could build in a failsafe that you could trigger, but he was being too closely observed. I'm sorry that we've had to put you in this position, but we weren't the ones who decided."

"Then who the orcae did then?" If someone decided that they were going to get me killed, I wanted to know.

"I'm sorry Alexis but I can't tell you that. May I also mention that Skye and Bucky don't know any of this, and they can't?"

"So I've got to go in there, with no idea how to shut it down, break the game, save my ass and theirs all while trying to avoid Pierce getting suspicious?"

"Yes. I'm sorry but yes. You need to get some sleep now. Tomorrow is the battle rounds, and you need to rest."

"Okay. Thanks." I pressed the button to disconnect the call and laid back. The computer couldn't track the vendor. They'd left no trace what so ever. I stared at the ceiling and listened to the soft drone of the city, which was still awake even in the middle of the night. Sleep evaded me but I didn't care; why should I? I was going to die anyway.

I drifted off against my own will around sunrise. Around 7 Skye came bounding in to wake me up.

"Come on Alexis, wake up! You have to get ready for the first stimulation." She pulled back my covers and I groaned.

"Skye, give me chance! Get out so I get changed then." I swung my legs out of bed and realised I was in the same clothes as yesterday. Oh well. Skye walked out and I walked over to the cabinet, nearly falling over my laptop in the process. I swung the cupboard doors open, and had a quick look through clothes.

"It's the black and dark purple top and trouser set." Skye called out. I grabbed them and pulled the top I was wearing off quickly. I shoved the top and trousers on; they were surprisingly comfy. A quick look at the material showed that they had tiny little sensors embedded in them, probably so the stimulation works. I pulled on a pair of black boots that were in the bottom of them and laced them up. I got up, closed the door and studied myself in the mirror. It wasn't vanity; it was just to see if I'd changed.

In the mirror I saw a girl, in a form fitting outfit who looked storing and brave. It didn't look like me. I reached up and began to braid my hair back, making corn rows at the front then pulling it into one braid at the back. Around my neck I clasped my mother's necklace, and slipped a leather bracelet that I'd stolen from my father onto my wrist. I stared at the girl in the mirror for a moment, then swung the door open and went into the lounge. Bucky and Skye were sitting in the kitchen eating breakfast.

"Finally! We thought you'd fallen through the wardrobe." Bucky called out. Skye mumbled something through a mouthful of cereal, which I elected to ignore. I wandered over to the (real) fruit bowl and grabbed an apple. I chopped it up into chunks and started to eat them.

"How much sleep did you get last night?" Skye said. I sat down on a breakfast stool next to her.

"Not much. Why?"

"You look as if someone's given you two black eyes." Bucky said, waving his spoon at me.

I shook my head and continued eating my apple. We chatted for a bit, and headed down to the stimulation floor around 9.30. One of the other teams was already there. It was the one with the irrumator in it. I looked away, hoping he didn't notice me. I didn't want another fight.

"Oh look, isn't it our favourite meretrix? How is the slut today?" He walked over to me and shoved me.

"Back off Luke." Bucky slipped in between us, completely hiding me from the irrumator, who is called Luke supposedly.

"What, protecting your girlfriend? It looks like she's found herself a pimp, but no one touches my slut." He shoved Bucky, who stumbled into me. Then I heard a cry of pain. I looked round Bucky and saw that Skye had jumped onto Luke's back and put it in a head lock.

"Leave my team alone you mentula!" She shouted out. Just then Natalie walked in so Skye jumped off and ran back to us. Behind her back she put out her hand, and we all high fived.

"Seeing as there are 6 of you here, we might as well start. Each of you pair up with someone from the opposite team, and then tell me." She said. She was holding a clipboard in her hand. Me and Luke eyed each other up, and walked over to Natalie.

"We've partnered up Miss, and may I say your eyes are glowing today?" Luke had obviously decided that he was going to chat up Natalie. She just smirked and raised her eyebrows.

"Now if you would like to follow me, I'll take you to your training room." As we walked out the door she whispered in my ear, "You can kick his ass easily. Remember what I said yesterday."

We walked into a large room, larger than my house in the Fringe and went to stand in the middle.

"This is the battle stimulation. Here you will have a one on one fight that will last until someone clearly loses. A computer while record your fighting moves so we can provide the best possible challenge in the survival stimulation" Natalie directed me to one mark and Luke to another around 5 feet away. We stood there staring each other out. I looked at Natalie, who'd to the observation room, quickly and she nodded at me.

A timer beeped five times then held a long beep. Luke ran forward, obviously trying to tackle me. I waited till the last moment and side stepped while leaving my leg there to trip him over. He fell for it and fell flat on his face. I spun and executed what would have been a perfect axe kick to the back of his neck, which I wouldn't normally use, if he hadn't have rolled and pulled me down. He pinned me underneath him, his large hands gripping my biceps.

"Not so tough and cocky now are you, meretrix?" he whispered in my ear. I thrashed and thrashed, and then waited. When he thought I'd calmed down, he loosed his grip slightly. This was the opportunity I'd been waiting for. I slammed by knee up into his groin and when he let go completely, slid up and out from under him. I jumped up and got a few metres away from him. He was doubled up in pain, groaning. I looked up at the observation box, where Natalie stood watching, arms crosses. She smiled slightly but shook her head. I would have to do more. Luke stood up, and took a strong fighting stance.

"Afraid to fight fair, are you? Afraid you'll lose?" he was being cocky to goad me. If he wanted a fight, I'd give him one. I slunk closer, staying light on my feet. When I was within hitting distance, he pounced forward and placed a very hard jab under my ribs. This knocked my breath, but I managed to get in a round house kick while his guard was down. He jumped back and threw a quick front kick, which I moved to the inside of and got within his guard. I tried to back fist his face, which he blocked, so I threw my elbow up and caught his jaw. As he bent over clutching his face, I took a few steps back, ran up to him and kicked my leg round his neck. I then scissored and brought my legs to the ground. The momentum and shock of it pulled him down and he fell to the floor with a heavy thud. A loud, long beep echoed around the room, and Natalie walked out. I'd won.

"Well done Alexis, those were interesting moves you used. Luke pick yourself off the ground, you wouldn't like a rumour to spread that your supposed meretrix kicked your ass would you?" Natalie sounded business like, but her voice had underlying steel. He slowly dragged himself off the floor and staggered around a bit, almost like the drunk men I'd seen on payday.

"Well, you could be my meretrix instead if you want?" He smiled at her, with a bruise beginning to develop on his jaw. She kicked him between the legs and he fell to the ground with a yelp. She pulled out her phone and took a picture, then pocketed it again.

"I'll send that to all his friends later. Now, shall we go get your hands looked at?"

I looked down at my hands and realised that they were bleeding and one of the knuckles looked displaced, dislocated I think. I must not have registered the pain through all the adrenalin that was coursing through my blood.

"Maybe that would be a good idea. How did the others get on?" I wanted to know how the rest of my team did, that way I could start to get an idea of who I would have to look out for more.

"They both won theirs; Bucky was against Peter. The poor kid had no chance. Skye was against the other Society girl, and they were pretty evenly matched. Where did you learn the scissor kick you used to take him down? I haven't seen that before and I do a lot of martial arts." Natalie asked. We started to walk towards the door, but as I walked past Luke he grabbed my leg, so I kicked him the face. Natalie just laughed, and we headed towards the medical bay to get my hand patched up.

**A/N EXTRA UPDATE! What do you think? The kick is meant to be the spinning one Nat uses at the beginning of the avengers. I might update tomorrow if I get time. Thanks to Son-of-hiddle for reviewing the chap, and giving me great feedback. Till next time,**

**Ciao peeps**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Got my train tracks today. Tip: if you're getting them, don't eat Toblerone within 24 hours of getting them OR (my solution) cut it up!**

**Also, I'm really sorry but I might take a break from this for a couple of weeks. I'm hitting a motivational block with this, and want to focus on Fire and Ice. It might be a case that a plot bunny bites me in a week and I update like normal.**

**Sorry**

Chapter 6: Cloaks and Lies

Over the next couple of days we fought everyone including our team mates. I beat nearly everyone. I deliberately lost my fights against a few people, including the Skye's friend from Society and one of Luke's friends. I did that deliberately to rub salt in the wound in, because it was one of Luke's closest friends. Lee, I think the guys name was. I couldn't remember half on the names which wasn't the best idea; you have to know your enemy. A group meeting was called to announce the ranking in the battle stimulations, which would be the first time Bucky, Skye and I would actually have time to talk because all our fights had been scheduled at different times. From what I'd seen, Steve had been supervising Bucky's fights and Tony had been watching Skye's. I knew they wouldn't get hurt; Steve especially wouldn't let that happen.

I was getting ready when my ear piece buzzed again. I cursed and pressed the button.

"Pierce is going to try and threaten you at the meeting tonight." Natalie said; voice hushed as if she wasn't meant to be talking.

"Is he catching on? What should I say to him?" I grabbed my hairbrush and started brushing my hair. I'd just washed it to so I needed to prevent it tangling.

"He's not, but Luke complained to him that it was being fixed. The Central kids think this is a betting game, and that there's lots of money at stake, which in a way there is."

"That mentula! Can't he just be noble for once and admit defeat? Being a sore loser is not going to get him anywhere." I ranted while using this contraption called a hairdryer to, well dry my hair.

"He's a Central. Think of Tony. Now when Pierce asks you what's going on, you're going to have to distract him." Over the ear piece, I heard someone ask a question, which Natalie answered. She sounded like she'd been listening the whole time, which she probably has been.

"How the orcae do I do that? Punch him between the legs or what?"

"Use your body. The dress code tonight is formal as the main funders, and Director Fury are going to be there. Show off as much skin as you can, and play the innocent girl. You know nothing, okay. I've got to go." Static crackled.

I was going to have to use myself. I had an alright figure because I exercised quite a lot, but I didn't like showing it off because I wanted to be taken for who I was, not what I had. I sighed and had a look through the wardrobe. There was various dresses, but they were either too conservative or to wrong colour for me. I looked through multiple times, hoping I'd missed one that would be suitable. I was about to begin on my hair when Skye knocked on the door. I called for her to come in and she poked her head round, a strand of hair falling out of her braid into her face.

"A maid just dropped off our outfits. Natalie picked them out I think." She passed me a bag which had the dress on it. I laid it on the bed but when I when I went to thank her, she'd gone. I turned back to the bag, unzipped it and pulled out the dress. It was quite low cut, dipping down into my chest, and was made of a red silk. It had a high slit up my left thigh and was held up by a halter neck. It had a slight shimmer to it due to the splattering of sequins which sparkled in the light. I turned it round and saw it had no back. I had another quick look in the wardrobe and found the perfect pair of shoes. They were made of suede with around a 6 inch heel, and were extremely strappy. If this doesn't distract him, I thought, what will?

I began to strip off my fighting gear and struggled into the dress. It was really tight fitting and I couldn't breathe properly, and that was before I zipped it up. I tried to reach round to pull the zipper up but I couldn't.

"Skye? Bucky? Can someone help me please?" I called out and a totter of heels can to my aid in the form of Skye. She burst through the door and stopped. "Skye, what's wrong?"

"You... you look amazing Alexis." I blushed furiously.

"Thank Skye, you look good too." She really did. It was turquoise, with a square front and puff sleeves. "Can you zip it up please? I think it's a size too small."

I sucked my stomach in and Skye just about managed to get the zip up after a bit of yanking. Just to make sure it stayed up, I got her to discreetly put a safety pin at the top to hold it up. I sank onto the bed and put my shoes on then stood up.

"Wait, I have the perfect necklace. Don't look in the mirror!" Skye said excitedly, tottering out of the room. I sat back down and wondered how tonight was actually going to go. If I messed up, there was a possibility my father could die. Skye tootled back in, holding a black velour box.

"Here!" she said, passing me the box. I opened it and inside it was a beautiful choker which looked like it had been made out of silver leaves, with tiny garnet flowers.

"Skye I can't. It's beautiful; you should be wearing it." I closed the box and handed it back to her. She shook her head and stepped back, hands raised. "I'm going to wear the same one, but with turquoise instead of garnet. I insist on you wearing it." She turned and walked out. She called out to Bucky, and he faintly responded. I got the choker out and placed it round my neck, then looked in the mirror.

The red contrasted with my hair and eyes, and the tightness of the dress gave me a curvaceous figure. As it was low cut, it made it look like I had more cleavage than I actually did. The slit showed off most of my leg, which the heels made look longer. My hair cascaded down my shoulders in black waves, and I grabbed some red lipstick and put that on.

I went out to the lounge, where Skye and Bucky were waiting. When Skye heard me she jumped up, pulling Bucky with her.

"See Bucky, I told you she was jaw dropping." Bucky's eyes became glued to my chest which made me feel really uncomfortable.

"I'm not so sure about this. Maybe I should go change." I spun round and headed back to my room, but Skye grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"Alexis, you look fine. Come on, otherwise we're gonna be late." She grabbed Bucky with her other hand and dragged us to the elevator.

We were the last group down there. Everyone else had already claimed tables, and Natasha frowned at us as we rushed in. We sat down at the table in the corner of the room, which had Natasha and a black man with one eye covered on it.

"This is Bucky, Skye and Alexis. Everyone, this is Director Fury, head of Shield Inc. and your overall boss. He's here to make a judgement on whether he thinks you would be a suitable candidate for a permanent job. Please don't be intimidated by him, but I asked that you treat him with the same level of respect for him as you would me."

Bucky asked him a question which he began to answer. I raised an eyebrow to ask her if he was with us, and she nodded slightly. Then, the sound of someone tapping on a microphone reverberated round the room. Pierce was standing at a podium.

"Good evening everyone and welcome. I hope you find your food satisfactory, but first I have some announcements to make. In a moment, the rankings for the battle round will appear on the screen. These have been decided on your fighting skills, your wins, and your strategy. They will go from worst to best. Your ranking determines whether you get any power ups within the games, and how good they are. Displayed are the name, status, mentor and score:

15. Richard, Society, Tony

14. Peter, Fringe, Clint

13. Flash, Fringe, Thor

12. Hank, Central, Tony

11. Lee, Central, Steve

10. Jonathan, Fringe, Steve

9. Daniel, Central, Thor

8. Charles, Fringe, Tony

7. Gambit, Society, Steve

6. Adrienne, Society, Clint

5. Daniel, Society, Thor

4. Skye, Society, Natalie

3. Luke, Central, Clint

2. James, Central, Natalie

1. Alexis, Fringe, Natalie

As the results came up everyone fell silent. I looked down to find my name and saw I was 1st. Even with me giving up my fights, I'd made it to the top, and beat Luke. I looked over at his table and he was scowling. Peter put his thumbs up to me and I gave him a small smile.

"Well done everyone. There was tough competition, but massive congratulations to Natalie and her team, who are all within the top 5." There was a polite clap, although Steve was clapping a bit enthusiastically for Bucky, who blushed furiously.

"Throughout the night I will take each of you to the side and explain your power ups to you." Me and Natalie looked at each other and raised our eyebrows. That would be when he would confront me. "For now, eat drink and be merry, feel free to socialize and may the games be ever in your favour." Pierce stepped down from the podium and a loud chatter filled the room.

For what felt like hours I mingled, talking to the investors and mentors, and at one point Fury. He stated he was interested in employing me on a permanent basis after I was done on this project; he'd heard about my computer skills and wanted me working in his personal team. From the other side of the room, Tony gave me the thumbs up from where he was talking to a strawberry blond woman in heels and a white suit. Eventually Pierce tapped me on the shoulder and I followed him into a large side room with a large hologram in the middle.

"Now Alexis, before we talk about your bonus, I need to talk to you about a pressing concern that one of your co-workers has."

I decided playing dumb would be my best bet. "Concerns, sir? What would they be?" I twiddled with a piece of my hair, like I'd seen the girls at school who used their body to get stuff.

"It's probably nothing but Luke has submitted a complaint that you had been fixing your fights, deliberately losing them. Is that true? This is very serious business Alexis." He walked up to me, and I backed up against the wall. He invaded my personal space and got too close for my liking. I pushed my chest out, hoping to distract him."

"Why would I do that sir? He's just upset that I beat him and made a fool of him." I giggled like a stupid dumb girl.

Pierce nodded. "I thought so." He backed off and leant against the table. "Now let's get down to business. As you ranked highest, you get first pick of the power ups. You can choose one weapon, one survival and one accessory. Feel free to look through the option. I will return in 5 minutes for your choice." He pulled up the options and walked back into the other room. As soon as he left, I turned on my ear piece. Luckily Natalie picked up.

"He let it go. Is there anything specific power up I should pick?" I scrolled though the weapons. Bows, guns, knives, maces….

"Can you shoot a bow or a gun?" Natalie asked.

"Both. I can throw knives too." I'd persuaded one of the older students at school to teach me one summer in exchange for computer lessons.

"Get whichever one you're best at them. It doesn't matter what kind of thing they put you into, you need to work with your abilities. Knives would be useful because they have more than one use, but so would a bow and arrow set. I have to go, Pierce is coming."

In the end I chose the bow and arrows, a bottle of water and a knife. The knife was counted as an accessory. I informed Pierce of my choice and walked back out to find Natalie. She was taking to Thor and a tall, lanky black haired man.

"My congratulations Alexis!" boomed Thor, who slapped me on the shoulder. I'm pretty sure it would bruise.

Natalie leaned over and whispered "What did you choose?" I leaned back and answered "Bow water knife". She nodded in agreement.

"Alexis, this is Loki. He's Thor's brother and he's in charge of making sure everything stays up during the trials." Natalie told me, and gave me a slight nod, meaning he could be trusted.

"It's nice to meet you Loki." I offered my hand, which he just glared at. Thor sighed.

"I apologize for my brother. He isn't very social. He finds better company with the computers than his own kind." He apologized.

"It's okay Thor, I'm the same. I'm not exactly the most outgoing of people either."

Loki stopped glaring at the floor for a moment and actually looked at me. "Yet you're dressed like a tart and act like you own the place."

Thor looked as if he was going to punch Loki. "Alexis I'm so sor-" but I interrupted him.

"Don't worry, we can trust he right?" I looked from Natalie to Thor, and they both nodded. "Right, well I'm dressed like a slut because we needed to distract Pierce, and thankfully it worked. I'm acting like I own the place because otherwise people will think I am just a piece of meat, and I have enough problems with that anyway when I have all my skin covered." Loki nodded. I made my excuses to leave and went to find Tony because I needed to laugh. Luke stopped me halfway through the room.

"Finally you've accepted what you are, my little meretrix." I just walked round him, but he grabbed my waist and pulled me to his body.

"I know everything." He whispered in my ear then bit my neck. He let me go and walked off. I stood there staring at his back, unsure what to do. Skye spotted me and came over.

"Is something wrong Alexis?" She asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "Nothing Skye, nothing."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm back! So I'm aiming for around 10-15 chapters, I'm sorry if the actual game chapters are pretty crappy, it's just that I know how to end it, just not how to build up to the end. I promise, you guys will love the ending! **

**Ciao peeps**

Chapter 7 :Let the games begin

Towards the end of the evening, Pierce announced that the survival round would begin tomorrow. All the contestants looked shocked, all except me and Luke . He looked over at from his table and made a cutting motion at his throat. We'll see about that, I thought. We were told to be downstairs by 10, and were dismissed. As we walking out, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me down a side corridor. It was Luke. I broke free of his grasp and turned around to go back but he put his arm round my waist and brought me back; holding me tight against his body. He began to nibble slightly on the top of my ear, and no matter how much I struggled I couldn't loosen his grip. I decided to conserve my energy, which he took as giving in.

"Finally you have accepted who is your master, my little meretrix." He began to pat my hair, gloating. "Now, tell me all you know about the plan to foil the games."

"Games? What games?" I decided he was no different to Pierce, so the same tactics would work with him.

"You know what I'm talking about. I heard you talking to Natalie and the others earlier." He said, one of the hands that held my waist moving up and resting on my right breast. He was making feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I don't...master. Please let me go, otherwise people will start wondering where we are." I put on a high pitched girlie voice.

"Fine them, but I'm going to mark you as mine."He bite down up my neck and began to suck slightly. He was giving me a hickey, the irrumator! Once he finished he loosened his grasp, and I quickly walked off but not before he managed to slap my ass. He would pay once we got in the games, I thought. As soon as I got out of his hearing range, I called Natalia.

"Luke's onto us about the games. He just cornered me and tried to get answers out of me." Gambit walked past me and smiled at me, and I smiled back.

Natalia cursed in a language I don't recongnise. "Okay just get up here. We're having team strategy meeting then at midnight I want you to come to the staff floor , alright?"

"Will do. I'm nearly there." I got into the elevator, and it took me quickly up to our floor. Natalia, Bucky and Skye were already there.

"Where were you Alexis? We waited for you but couldn't find you." Skye said, getting up and giving me a hug. I met Natalia's eyes and she lightly shook her head.

"I went outside for a moment. Don't worry about me; I can look after myself. " I sat down next to Bucky "So what's our stratagy? "

"Stay out of the way, and don't get killed. Onto kill if you have to and if something feels wrong in your gut, get the he'll out of there." Natalia sounded so hard, so cold, then I remembered what she'd said about people actually dying. I suppose she didn't want us to have that guilt weighing us down.

"Kill?" Skye said, sounding shocked.

"It's for the military Skye, they're going to have to kill people so we have to test that aspect." Bucky said. I suppose as he was from Central he was good at spreading The Government's watching tune. I wished I could tell them but I had to do this alone. I faked a yawn.

"I'm going to call it a night. Sorry guys but I want to be ready for tomorrow. " I got up and headed for the door, but halted. "Are we going to be able to sleep in the stimulation? "

Natalia nodded. "You will be able to act normally. Any food and drink you find in it you will be able to consume as well."

I slipped through the small gap between the door and the frame and closed it behind me. I slipped off the heels, and massaged my feet to get the blood flowing again. I unzipped the dress and it fell to my feet and I let out a deep breath. I put on a robe to cover myself, and began to take off the makeup I'd worn. I unclasped the necklace and placed it back in it's box, and made a mental note to give it back to Skye. I grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. I adjusted the heat setting then got in the shower. I stayed there for nearly 20 minutes, thinking about last summer when I found a waterfall in the forest at the edge of the Fringes. The water was beautifully clear and being it was a stone ledge with a small cave. I slept out there one night and watched the stars and the nightlife.

After I got out, I pulled on a simple black longsleeve top and dark blue jeans..I went back into my room and put my mother's necklace back on along with the bracelets my father made me. I checked the time and realised I only had 15 minutes. I pulled know a pair of own ankle length hunting boots and slipped out the door.

Skye and Bucky were still up talking so I kept the edge of the room in the shadows. They didn't hear the door to the staff stairwell softly shut behind me. I ran up the 5 floors of stairs to the staff floor, ignoring the confused looks he maids I passed gave me. I burst through the door into the staff lounge just as the clock struck 12. All the mentors, Bruce, Loki and, surprisingly, Fury were there. They were all focused on a tall, black haired woman who was standing in the middle of the room with her back to Alexis talking animatedly. She had a voice that you has to listen to and you remember what they said. Everyone was enchanted, and they didn't notice Alexis until Tony looked at the door when the clock struck.

"Ah the prodigy is here!" He announced loudly and pulled Alexis towards the woman, who'd turned to see who'd arrived. Around the woman's neck was a scar, similar to the one you'd get if you'd survived being hung.

"Alexis this is the representative of the Opposers, the people who have helped infiltrate the games. She's here to update us on any decisions made about our plan, and to help us out. Her name is Cath. " The woman put her hand out and I stared at it.

"In sorry, I forgot. You're Fringe not Society. My apologies." She put her palm up but I still just stared at her palm. She slowly brought it down, looking hurt. I gave her a once over then went and sat by Natalia and Loki, who moved up the sofa when I sat down; to give me space or in disgust I didn't know.

"Why didn't you greet her?" Natalia leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Because of her and her little gang, I've been dragged into these stupid games and might die. Why the orcae should I greet her?" I hissed back. Loki must heard me as he looked over at me with a strange look on his face.

"So what's the plan? Any special magical item I have to find that saves the day?" I threw out there. Loki snorted.

"What do you do all day, play crappy video games?"

"No, I spent my days trying earn enough money so I could live? I spent them being bullied and ignored because I was an exile, because I wasn't good enough. Now, what do I have to do to get back to my dad?" I snapped. Cath's head snapped sharply towards me at the mention of my dad.

"You have to find the central console and hardware it to self district. It completely shuts down the games, and we'll get Pierce." Clint said from where he lounged, spinning some form of stick in his hands.

"Why hasn't Pierce already been arrested? Why wasn't he shut down after the first games? Why are kids still being dragged into this, being killed while people sat back and let it happen. " I sgood up and slammed my hands down on the table in front of me. "Tell me!" I shouted, and Natalia jerked back. They all gave each other side glances, challenging each other to answer. It as Cath who answered.

"We had to find it at we were dealing with. Shield inc. has been nearly completely infiltrated so we didn't know who we could trust. As the games are only held once a year, it was hard to gather information. This is our first and only chance."

"Well why not get them to hold a winners games? Why leave it down to a 16 year old exile who didn't want anything to do with with stupid job? I'm a kid for dios sake!"

"Because you were always more than just a kid." Cath said, then whispered under her breath, but I could hear because I was close enough, "Because you're my daughter. "

I took a step forward. "You are not my mother. My mother hung herself. She's dead so shut the fuck up."

The room fell into silence, waiting to see how Cath would respond. I stared at Cath, maintaining eye contact.

"It wasn't your father who got exiled, it was me. I kept spaking against the Government and they didn't like it. When we got the the Fringes , I got in contact with an underground group, the Opposers and started to do work for them. Eventually it got too dangerous for you and your father so I pretended kill myself. I did it for your own good Alexis."

"Well all it did was make it so I ended up back here. "I spat out.

"Please don't be like that. When I saw you at the station, I wanted to run out and hide you. Please forgive me." She stepped forward as if to hung me but I wouldn't let her. Instead I did the unthinkable: I flicked my wrists and slashed at her with the knives. She lifted her hand to the cuts along the top of her chest and her fingers dripped with blood. I reached up to my neck and yanked the locket, then threw it at her.

"I will never forgive you." I said, cold and calmly. I stalked out the room and into through elevator, and went up to the roof. There was a strong breeze which whipped my hair into my face but I didn't care; I sat at the edge and dangled my legs down. Considering what had just come to light, I didn't feel any different to how I did before. I heard the ping of the elevator behind me and glanced over my shoulder:it was Natalia. She sat down beside me.

"We didn't know. " She said softly. I shook my head.

"I don't care I want nothing to do with her."

"It's understandable. My mother is on the same commitee as her and said about the fact that Cath was willing to give up everything for the Opposers."

"Who did you have to kill?" I blurted out; it was a question that had been bouncing around my head for a while. Natalia fell silent and stared out into space. "It's okay if you don't to tell me."

"No it's only fair that I share something with you. It was my best friend, Alexi. He was severely wounded, and we'd made a pact to kill each other if we were wounded. As I shot holiday, he mouthed thank you. I saw his mother last time I was in the Fringes. I couldn't even look at her because of the guilt. "

I put my arm round her back. "You stopped his suffering. Better you than a random person. " Natalia nodded.

"Tomorrow, try to get out of the main square as soon as possible. Get to high ground, where you have a clear shooting radius. Get food and water. The ear piece will still work, so we'll contact you when you need to pull the plug."

"How will I know where to go?" I asked.

"We'll direct you. I'm assuming you can sort out the wiring? "

I snorted. "Simple. I've done it a million times."

"Good. You need to go get some sleep."

We hopped down off the roof and went our separate ways. I headed down the stairs and when I got to my floor, Bucky and Skye had gone to sleep. I collapsed onto my bed and instantly fell asleep.

)(

I woke around 7 and instantly remebered what happened last night. My mother was alive and helped pick me to die. What a lovely person. I got up and put on my training clothes. Skye and Bucky weren't awake yet, so I grabbed an apple and took a large bite as I called the elevator. I decided to go down to the gym and practise with a bow, as I hadn't had any practice since the summer. By the time I reached it, I'd finished my apple and chucked the core into the bin at the entrance of the gym.

I grabbed a bow from the weapons rack and on second thoughts sipped a knife into my belt so I could practise with that as well. I slung a quiver onto my back and headed to the range. The target was around 150 metres away; I notched an arrow, aimed and fired. It hit theget right in the centre . The second arrow I shot splaced the first one in half. I set the targets to moving, and began to shoot rapidly at the humanoid figures that disintegrated as soon as I hit them. I hit each one in a vital organ. Once my quiver was empty, I went to collect my arrows when I heard a dull this behind me. I swung round and without thinking chucked my knife at whoever it was. They barely managed to duck under it. It was Gambit.

"Good shot princess. Where did ya learn that?" He drawled. I shrugged and went back to collecting the arrows.

"Look I need a favour." He said, following me round. He'd picked up the knife and gave it to back me.

"Why ask me? Why not Steve,Jonathan or Lee?" I said as I brushed past him with a full quiver on my back.

"Because Jonathan and Lee are bottom rankers and I don't trust Steve. "

I raised an eyebrow at him. "And you trust me, even though we've never talked?"

"You know how to look after yourself, that's why came to you. I managed to piss Luke off last night, and noticed he's always giving you trouble, so how about we work together to take him down?" He leaned against the wall while I cleaned the bow.

"Fine, under one condition. "

"Great, what is it?"

"You learn my team alone . I'll leave yours alone."

"Sounds great princess. I'll walk with ya. "

I put the bow and knife, and headed up to the room we were all supposed to meet in. Along the way, we talked about where we lived. I found out he was actually in my PE class at school. We got there first, and were handed our bonus items. He'd chosen a staff, a ration pack and a knife. We hung around chatting till everyone else turned up and we were all kitted up. Then, our mentors led us into individual rooms. The scientists within our rooms placed sensors all over us, so they could monitor our stats. I hung by bow on my back, and slipped my knife into my boots. Loki's voice then came over the speakers.

"Stimulation beginning in 5..4..3

.2..1..0" As he said 0, the room suddenly went pitch black then lit back up. I was in an urban wasteland, with large derelict grey buildings. I looked arounand and saw other contestants scattered around. Bucky and Skye were next next to each other on the other side of the circle formation we were in. I saw Luke was one of the closest to me, and began to run. He followed me, shoving some of the other people out the way. I ducked into the nearest building and ran up the flights of stairs. I could hear Luke thundering up the stairs so I kept going. I reached the top floor and had no where to go. Luke was getting closer and closer. I looked out the window. The next building was a warehouse with a roof that was a level lower than my level. I took a few steps back and began to run. I used the windowsill as leverage and projected myself through the window. I flew through the air and landed with a loud bang on the warehouse. I rolled a few times the stopped. I looked back at the building and saw Luke hanging out the window, absolutely furious. I waved at him then slid down a drainpipe to the floor. Skye and Bucky came running over to me to check I was okay. From the otherside of the square we were in, Gambit was watching the chase with concern, obviously ignoring what Lee was trying to tell him. I decided we should head for one of the building a few streets down. Bucky and Skye agreed and we chose one which towered above the rest and made base on the top floor. I took first watch, so while the others slept I sat in the window, which had no glass, with my bow in my lap. I made note of where each team made camp, and made note of where Gambit's moon was full that night, and I thought of home.

**A/n Sorry that it got bad towards the end, im nearly falling asleep. Im doing this on my phone, so it isnt spell checked**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: How to survive being stuck in a stimulation with a jerk

As the sun rose the next day, I yawned and looked back at Bucky and Skye. They were curled up against each other; Skye snuggled under Bucky's arms. I smiled and looked back out the window. The wind blew my hair slightly and my bow rested across my lap. I had an arrow notched just in case anything happened but I didn't think anything would on the first day. I surveyed the area, and started learning the layout of the city, and anything that would be important. I could see a large lake, but it seemed to be full of rubble which had come off what looked to be the remains of a monument; I wasn't entirely sure. It definitely wasn't something we'd looked at in Geography.

Once Skye and Bucky woke up, we decided to go look for food. I'd spotted a small supermarket around 2 blocks away; the only problem was it was quite near Luke's camp. For that reason I suggested we went round past Gambit's camp.

"What the hell Alexis? They're our enemies; they'll blow us sky high as soon as we get near them." Bucky argued. I sighed.

"They won't. Trust me on this one." I was trying to avoid explaining the deal me and Gambit had made.

"Alexis, he's got a point." Skye sided with Bucky from the corner of the room, where she was leaning against the wall, gun holstered on her leg. She'd chosen that as her weapon and Bucky had chosen a sniper rifle. I was the only one who'd chosen another weapon as their extra.

"Before we left, I made a deal with Gambit; if he leaves us alone, we'll leave them alone. That means we can safely go through their camp, alright?" I slung my bow onto my back, and walked out. Just as I got to the stairs I heard footsteps behind me.

"You did what? Why did you do that? You didn't even ask us!" Skye sounded furious as she grabbed onto my sleeve and pulled me round. Bucky stood behind her, arms folded, looking as if he was her bodyguard.

"I was thinking for the team. Its three less people to worry about and it means there are more areas that we can go through."

"You still should have asked us. We're a team, not Alexis and her band of merry men." Bucky said, frowning.

I glared at them. "I was trying to help the team. If you have a problem, feel free to go off on your own. I can look after myself." I yanked my arm out of her grasp and ran down the flight of stairs. Once I was about 3 floors off the ground, I just jumped out one of the windows which had its glass blown out. I was furious. I landed in a crouch and looked up. Skye was leaning out one of the windows, looking at me but when she saw me looking she pulled back quickly. I got up and began to jog lightly. I looked around quickly and got my bearings; I took a right then ran along until I reached the street where Gambit's team had set up camp; as I passed a street sign I looked up and saw it said "W86th Street". I was obviously in an American city, from before the Fall, as we'd looked at 'Time before The Fall' in History. My teacher better be proud that I'd remembered something. I reached an intersection with what a sign told me was "Amsterdam Ave" so I took a quick right then went into a café called 'Barney Greengrass' which I'd seen Gambit go into. As I walked in, a bell jingled and I quickly pulled my knife out. I dropped down behind a table, and shuffled along until I reached the counter. I slowly rose but as soon as my head got slightly above the counter, I heard a click and felt cold steel against my forehead.

"Drop the knife." A low male voice commanded and I slowly put the knife on the floor. As I did, I reached back with my other hand towards my bow. As soon as the knife touched the floor, I swung the bow round, notching an arrow in the process and stood up, arrow aimed at the gunman. It was Jonathan. As soon as he saw the bow, he dropped the gun and it clattered on the floor. A quick glance showed it wasn't even loaded.

"I, I, I'm sorry. Gambit said if anyone ca-"

"Anyone but her you idiot." A voice rang out from the kitchen and Gambit walked in, drying his hands on a towel. The towel was stained red. My eyes opened wide, and he looked down at his hands.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone. Can you lower your bow please princess? I'm not going to hurt you."

I continued to glare at him, but slowly lowered my bow. Jonathan breathed a sigh of what seemed to be relief so I quirked an eyebrow at him. He mumbled something and went scuttling into the kitchen. I snorted and shook my head slightly. I sheathed my bow and picked up my knife. I also picked up the gun and threw it to Gambit, who caught it perfectly.

"So what brings you here princess? Where are your little friends?" He leaned casually against the counter, placing the gun on top of it. I sat down at one of the tables, throwing my knife up and catching it while managing not to hurt myself.

"I wanted to go get food from a supermarket up that way" I nodded my head in the direction of the supermarket, "and I suggested we go through this way because Luke's claimed that bit of area. Bucky and Skye weren't happy about it and when they found out that we had a truce they had a go at me. I told them I didn't need them and then came here."

"Don't you care about what could happen to them? They're your team; you have to look after each other."

"Look, I came here for help getting food, but if I'm not going to get any, I'm going to go in by myself, Luke or no Luke." I shoved the chair back, it squealed against the floor, and I stood up, heading for the door.

"Princess, I didn't mean it like that. I'll help, just wait for a night." He called out just as I was going through the door. I stopped, half in, half out. I stared across the street at the derelict pharmacy which didn't seem to hold any actual drugs.

"Why do you call me princess?" I said, still looking out the door.

"You're like the princess of all the people in this stupid program. You're just so regal I-" As soon as he says it I walk out.

I walk up the middle of the abandoned street, cars turned upside down and smashed. The whole city looked as if it has been attacked by a race of space creatures. I thought about a tale from before the Fall which my father used to read me about this team of superheroes who saved the world from the evil Loki and his race of Chitauri. I used to get him to read it to me every night, so I knew it off by heart. I used to wish I'd been one of those superheroes. My favourites were Black Widow and Hawkeye, and it was because of them I learned archery and how to fight.

"Alexis wait!" Gambit called out but I kept walking. Then something hit me in the back of the leg and it went from under me, causing me to fall. I landed on my knees and cursed under my breath; I didn't need any injuries already. I slowly got up and brushed my knees off; I'd grazed them at the most. I looked and saw it was a playing card that had hit me and I picked it up to examine; it seemed to be made of some form of flexible but strong metal. I spun round to throw at Gambit but he was standing right behind me; he plucked the card out of my hand and added it back to the pack he was holding in his hands.

"Thank you. Now, do you want my help or not? We had a deal." I looked him in the eyes and found, to my surprise, that his eyes were red, not a hazel as I'd first thought.

"Fine, but stop calling me princess. I'm not one, I never wanted to be here and I want to get this over with as soon as I can." I stepped round him and headed back to the café. He had a large stick he'd obviously picked up somewhere strapped to his back and had a knife tucked into his combat boots. When we got back, he headed straight to the kitchen and I followed him. Jonathan was in there, rummaging in the cupboards. I silently came back behind him and shouted "boo!" causing him to hit his head on the cupboard. I laughed, as did Gambit, and then pushed myself up onto the counter. Jonathan pulled his head out of the cupboard and glared at me, I just smirked at him. I looked around the kitchen and noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Lee?" I asked. Gambit and Jonathan looked at each other, as if debating on telling me. Jonathan gave a nod.

"Luke killed him last night. We were ambushed by his team and Thor's last night. We got out but Lee didn't". Gambit looked down at his hands, as if looking for blood on his hands.

"I'm so sorry. How about I team up with you guys for a bit? It won't do you any harm to have the highest rated fighter with you will it?"

"I suppose it won't, will it Gambit?" Jonathan said.

"Nah. So what's the plan for tonight princess?" He drawled and I threw my knife at him, which he only just managed to avoid again.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" I growled poisonously.

"Well get used to, it's starting to become a habit." Jonathan laughed at him, so I picked up the knife on the bench next to me and threw at him as well. He didn't manage to dodge it nearly as well as Gambit and it pinned him to the wall by his top. He stopped laughing. I grinned.

"Now where were we? Ah yes, tonight. How about one of goes and scouts out the others camp and distracts them while the other two go and get as much as we can from the supermarket?"

"That sounds good except for the splitting up part. I'm not okay with that." Gambit said, slipping out from under the knife and pulling it out from the wall. He flicked the blade back into the handle then came over and gave it to me, so I put it in my boot, in a similar fashion to him. He pulled out his pack of cards and began shuffling them.

"Well what do you suggest then?"

"There's a line of speakers on the wall outside, if we managed to program a recording to play along them, we can distract them and sneak round the other side."

"One problem Gambit, we don't have a computer tech." Jonathan spoke up from where he was still pinned to the wall, although he was valiantly trying to pull it out. I snorted and they both looked at me.

"Wiring up the speakers is the easiest thing ever to do. You should know that Jonathan considering how many times I did it at school."

Gambit threw a slight smile at me before going over to Jonathan and pulling the knife out. "Sounds good to me princess, how long will it take?"

"About 10 minutes, but I still want to scout out their camp. If we want to take them, we need to have an idea what we're up against."

"You're not going on your own." Gambit said forcefully, moving towards me so he was right in front of me.

"Why not?" I challenged him. "If I wanted a handler I would have stayed with Bucky and Skye."

"They're dangerous. Luke wants your blood. I can't let that happen." He said the last bit so softly that even I struggled to hear him. He reached up and wrapped his finger round a piece of my hair, and I froze. I didn't know what to do. As suddenly as he got in my face, he let go of my hair, stepped back and walked to the other side of the room. He let his long hair flop in front of his face so all I could see was his mouth.

"Jonathan, you stay here. Alexis and I will go scout. If anyone comes, shoot the hell out of them. Got it?"

"And make sure it's loaded this time." I piped up as I jumped off the counter. At least someone had my back if Gambit came, although I wasn't entirely used to someone having my back.

We went out through the back door in the kitchen and ran across the street. I went through a door next to the pharmacy labelled "Roof stairwell." I raced Gambit up the stairs, laughing and joking and pushing each other out the way. By the time we got to the top we were exhausted. We burst through the door to the roof and fell to the floor panting.

"I think I won that." I said, grinning at Gambit. He shook his head.

"No it was a draw." He heaved. Suddenly we heard the thud of boots on the roof, and we scrambled to our feet and hid behind a vent. It was Adrienne and Peter marching around the roof.

"I think they're patrolling." Gambit whispered to me. I nodded. As they marched past us, we held our breath and listened in.

"Luke did well catching those suck ups. I don't see how they got a 2nd and 4th without their precious Alexis." Adrienne gloated. I looked at Gambit, shocked and concerned. They had Bucky and Skye. Peter looked uncomfortable.

"She's really not that bad." He said. Adrienne glared at him.

"Do you want to end up with the rest of the prisoners tassel?"

"N. I don't!" Peter stuttered and Adrienne gave him a shark-like smile, baring all her teeth.

"Well shut up then and get moving."

They started marching towards 87th, so Gambit and I ran, keeping our bodies low, towards the intersection between 86th and Broadway where we would get the best view over where Luke was camped out, in another café called "café 86". We had a good view inside and in some ways I wish I couldn't.

Skye and Bucky were tied to two café chairs, back to back and were soaked in blood. Luke asked Skye something, leaning towards her face, and she jerked out at him, nearly head butting him. He obviously didn't like what she said, and he slapped her across the face. As he pulled his hand away, I realized he hadn't slapped her; he'd slashed her face with a knife. I could hear her scream from the rooftop. I pulled my bow off my back, got into a crouch and prepared to shoot him, but Gambit stopped me.

"Don't do it. Not yet. There's a layer of glass and he might move at any second. Don't risk it. Make it up close and personal; make it so he begs for death. Make him pay." I slowly put my bow down and rested my head on my knee. I felt Gambit's hand on my back.

"Let's go. We need to change our plan." I got up and walked straight into Adrienne. She had her gun pointing straight at me.

"Well look who turned up. Won't Luke be pleased with you?" She took one step towards me before something flashed across my sight and she stopped suddenly. She put her hands to her throat and it came away covered in blood. She coughed then fell to her knees, gurgling and choking. I looked at Gambit and saw he had his playing cards in his hands. He shrugged at me. I looked back down at her and saw she was dead, her blue eyes wide open, gazing murderously at me. What Gambit didn't realize is that outside the stimulation she was also dead. My gut turned over and I felt sick. I looked over and saw Peter hiding behind another vent. I walked over to him and he shuffled back, scared for his life.

"We won't kill you Peter, as long as you don't tell Luke you've seen us alright." He nodded nervously, still shuffling. "Go then." He scrambled quickly to his feet and began to run across the roof, occasionally looking back at me and Gambit. I walked back to Adrienne's body, where Gambit was pulling the card out of her throat. He whipped it on the floor then shuffled it back into the pack. It splattered blood onto every card it touched. I looked back down at her body. She seemed a lot younger when she was dead, only around 14. I knelt down and pulled her eyelids down, crossed her arms across her chest and whispered, "Réquiem ætérnam dona ei Dómine; et lux perpétua lúceat ei . Requiéscat in pace." It was the prayer that the vicar had said at my mother's supposed funeral. I picked up her gun and tucked it into my belt then walked back towards 'Barney's', Gambit silently walking next to me. We walked slowly down the stairs, the world in a morbid still. As we exited, I stopped at the door, causing Gambit to walk into me.

"Princess, why did you stop?" He asked.

"Look at the floor." I whispered and he looked down over my head. Scrawled on the floor was a message in blood.

You take one of my men, I take one of yours. Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth

"Jonathan." We both said at the same time and ran into the café kitchen. Jonathan was hanging from the ceiling by a noose and his eyes had been gouged out. His throat had also been slit. The knife used to cut his throat was in his hands. There was a pool of blood underneath.

Drip, drip, drip.

Gambit gagged and ran out into the street retching. I took a deep breath to calm myself, pulled out my knife and began to cut Jonathan down. When I got down the last few fibres, his weight broke them and he fell to the floor with a thud. I untied the rope from around his neck, getting blood all over my hands, then grabbed a towel and tied it over his eyes.

"Gambit, you can come back in. He's down now." After a moment, the light into the room was cut off by his long, lanky body casting a shadow. He stayed in the doorway as I went to the sink and washed of my hands.

"What are we going to do?" Gambit asked, pointedly not looking at the body.

"We're going to avenge him." I said coldly. The sink was stained red.

I said the same prayer over Jonathan's body as I did over Adrienne's, then took his gun then gave it to Gambit. I also took the knife and cleaned it off. If I got the chance, I would kill Luke with it. I attached it to my belt then looked at Gambit. He was kneeling over Jonathan, and kissed his index and middle finger of his right hand to his lips, then pressed them to the centre of Jonathan's forehead. It was a Society death custom. I waited patiently until he stood up, tears dripping round his face. His face was full of grief, and a thirst for vengeance.

"Let's go kill the irrumator. I will make him regret he was ever born." Gambit looked like a dark avenging angel, his dark hair framing his pale face, and red eyes standing out.

"Let's go then. Shall we just storm the place?" I asked, tying my hair up as we walked out the door. I didn't want it loose while I was fighting.

"No. I'll take the front and you take the back. Try and get to Skye and Bucky, and I'll deal with Luke and his lackey's."

"You sure? I thought you didn't want to split up."

"We don't have a choice now. Ready?" He glanced at me briefly and I nodded. We split up and I snuck round the back. There were two guards, but I took them out easily by going behind them and slitting their throats as they weren't paying attention. I opened the door, biting my lip to stop myself cursing when it squealed slightly. I went into the storeroom, which was only lit by the light from the door. I got to the door which led into the main café, and opened it slightly. I could see Luke and someone from Thor's team, Flash I think his name was, standing in front of Skye and Bucky, while everyone else seemed to be out the front fighting Gambit. I rolled forward so I was behind the counter and notched an arrow. I shuffled to the edge of the counter, and lent my head round slightly. Both of them were looking the other way. Skye looked barely conscious whereas Bucky was fully out. I stood up quickly and fired an arrow; it struck Flash dead centre through his heart before he realized what happened. Before he had struck the floor, dead, I'd already notched another arrow and aimed it at Luke, who had pulled a gun.

"So you didn't learn from the little message I left you then?" Luke asked cockily, although it seemed to be a rhetorical question.

"Put the gun down Luke. I'm not afraid to shoot you." I said calmly, although I was shaking inside. I would do what I had to do, even if it meant killing him.

"Put the gun down? Well I will then." As he lowered the gun, he pulled the trigger but nothing hit me. I was confused, until I heard a small yelp. Blood was spilling out from Skye's chest.

"No!" I cried out while letting the arrow go. It hit Luke right between the eyes. I didn't even look to see if I'd hit him. I ran over to Skye, who was sobbing quietly. Her head was beginning to droop.

"Skye, Skye look at me. Skye!" I screamed, as her head hit her chest. I slapped her lightly but got no response. I pulled her head to my chest, sobbing as I rocked her as if I was lulling her to sleep.

I let go of her head and pull out my knife. I stood up and stalked over to Luke's body and began to violently stab him. I didn't care that he was dead; he was going to pay for what he did. By the time Gambit came in around 10 minutes later, I'd finished mauling Luke's body and was kneeling there, sobbing while holding the knife to my chest.

"Alexis what happened?" Gambit said, concerned as he came over to me, putting his arm around my back.

"He..He..He killed her!" I sobbed quietly. He pulled me into him, and I lent my head against his chest. We both let our grief go for those who had died. Then Bucky began to wake up.

"Skye" he mumbled, groggily. He looked at me. "Alexis, what happened?" I look at him and begin crying again. He turns his head and looks at Skye.

"Skye, wake up." He nudges her with his hands. "Skye come on, wake up."

I stand up and go to cut him free. As soon as he can, he stands up and goes round to Skye and shakes her by the shoulders.

"Bucky, I'm sorry but she's dead." I tell him as I cut her hands free. He stares at me.

"No she can't be." He shakes her some more."

"I'm sorry but she is." Gambit says, coming over. I lift her shirt and show him the bullet hole.

"Wait, no, what?" Bucky looks from me, to Skye. It finally sinks in. He tries to choke down a sob but fails. I go to comfort him but he won't let me.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't left us she would still be alive!" He shouts at me, and goes to fight me. I turn and run, out the door, along the streets as far as I can go.

Everyone died because of me.

**A/N warned you it was gruesome. I'm sorry I killed her off, but I need something to happen. This is the longest chapter I've written, like ever.**

**The death prayer in English is: Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him/her .May he/she rest in peace.**

**To be helpful, I'll give you a list of the dead (God that's morbid). It includes all those who died fighting Gambit out front:**

**Lee**

**Adrienne**

**Jonathan**

**Skye**

**Flash**

**Daniel (both of them)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I kept running up Broadway until I reached the intersection with W91. My feet felt like they were about to fall off. I wasn't a runner, and always came last in races when I lived in the Fringe. This was one physical aspect they didn't test ready for the stimulation. I looked around me and didn't recognise the part of the city; it was somewhere I hadn't been able to see from the tower. The street was dark and grey, and long shadows were cast by the tall buildings. A look down the nearest alley showed over flowing bins and scuttling rats who looked at me. I spent backed and jogged into a café over the street. Like everywhere, it was abandoned. There was running water in the kitchen so I found the mug with the least chips in it and filled it with water. It tasted of the lead pipes, so I spat it out, no matter how thirsty I was. I didn't want to die of lead poisoning due to a stupid mistake. I hadn't heard anything from Natalia yet and I was starting to wonder if they were still going to contact me. Maybe Pierce had found them out. I wasn't sure.

I dug through the cupboards and managed to find a bottle of water. I gulped it down greedily and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I slumped against the cupboard door and panted heavily, letting my mind wander. I thought of Skye and how little I actually knew about her. Thinking about it, it'd only been about a week since I'd accepted the job prospect. So much had changed since then. I'd gained friends but then lost them, found out about my mum and had my whole world turned upside down so I'd changed as a person. I wonder if I was still recognisable. The stimulation was only 2 days in but there were only 6 people left. The thought of that brought me to my senses.

I got some food out of the vending machines in the front of the café, and then had a look out the window. The occasional bird flew past but other than the rats, they were the only sign of life. I spied a set of stairs and headed up them, hoping to get a better view of the city. I ran up about 2 flights before reaching a skylight. I had to use a chair to boost me up so I could see out but once I was up, I had a good view of the whole city. Looking towards café 86 I could see tendrils of smoke dancing their way up into the dusk sky. Gambit or Bucky must have lit a funeral pyre. I pang of guilt shot through me. I should have been there. I looked east and tried to spot Tony's team but couldn't. I cursed and hopped down off the ledge where I was perched. I jumped down the stair well, not bothering to waste time taking the steps. I landed in a crouched with a thud and went back to the vending machine, getting enough food and drink to last me a day. If Natalia hadn't contacted me by the evening I would head back to the tower my team had stayed at on the first night. I wasn't sure if Bucky would be there, but I would face that problem when it came.

As I walked out the door I felt a presence to my right. My hand edged toward the knife attached to my belt but the presence beat me to it. "You're not going to use me as target practise again princess." The nickname made it obvious who it was.

"Why did you follow me? Why not just leave me alone so I can get on with surviving and doing what we're paid to do?" I said angrily, shoving past him. He grabbed onto my knife arm, stopping me from going anywhere. No matter how hard I tried to pull away I didn't have to heart to kick him so he would let me go.

"Princess, calm down! I followed you to check you were okay and to say that Bucky doesn't blame you." I stopped tugging and looked at him in amazement.

"She's dead because of me. Why doesn't he? I'm a bad person, a very bad person…" I repeated it like a mantra, tears starting to stream down my face. Gambit tried to hug me but I began to claw at his face. "Leave me alone! I don't deserve your sympathy!" I screamed at him. He just sighed heavily and dragged me towards the wall.

I put my heels down put it didn't help; he had at least 40lbs on me. I suppose it made sense, considering the fact he was at least 6ft and grew up in Society, compared to my 5ft 5 and Fringe childhood.

He pinned both my wrist against the wall above my head with one hand and came close into my personal space. I fidgeted but couldn't get loose; I was tired and wanted to preserve my energy so gave up. He rested his forehead on top of mine and his face seemed ages older than the 17 I knew he was (his files came up when I searched the server but I didn't really pay attention to anything except the basic details). His long hair flopped forward, partially covering his face. He'd lost both his team members, and then he had had to kill all of Thor and Clint's men. He had lost a lot more than me but he'd still managed to carry on. When he looked into my eyes, although they were slightly hidden, his eyes didn't glow their normal bright red but a dull maroon, as if the life was fading out of him in red tendrils.

"What next?" I whispered softly. I looked at his lips, which were swollen from fighting earlier. They were slightly reddish, with a full bottom lip which had a large cut across it. I couldn't help looking at him as more than a friend….maybe it was the fact that he was basically pressing his body against me. I could feel the hard muscles of his stomach, probably from working physical labour jobs or working out. The arm holding mine us was made of pure muscle and rippled every time he moved. His whole body moved up and down slightly as he breathed, as he was panting heavily. I inhaled and breathed him in, he smelt of burning fires and cold nights. I looked up and down and when my eyes met his again, he was watching me expectantly, with a slightly amused smirk on his face. He raised an eyebrow at me when I blushed slightly.

"Done inspecting me princess? You know what I look like now?" He joked lightly.

"Well, not as much as I'd like." I left a suggestion hanging off the end of my sentence, letting him make the move if he wanted to. I felt slightly bad for doing this only a few hours after Skye had died, but who knew when I was going to get another opportunity?

"Let's get to know each other better then, shall we?" He leant down, whispering in my ear. He placed a feathering kiss between my jaw and ear, and began to place them all along my jaw until he reached the corner of my mouth. I turned my head to meet his lips. Kissing him was like kissing liquid steel, hot but cold, hard but soft. His lips were chapped slightly but still felt like velvet, and tasted of peppermint. I opened my mouth slightly in a gasp and he lightly nipped my bottom lip. He moved his other hand from where it had been leaning on the wall to around my waist, pulling me even closer to him. Every spot we connected at was a small bolt of electricity, firing every time we moved slightly. Whenever his skin left mine, it was like a small part of me had gone. I was hungry for him, constantly turning my head trying to get a better angle so I could have more of him. His tongue slipped into my mouth and mine went forward to meet his. They entwined and began an elegant dance between mouths, with his taking the lead. He let go of my hands and they instantly entwined in his hair, gripping him close so he would never let go. He moved his hand to the bottom of my top, rubbing slightly so it rose up and his hand connected with bare skin. I moaned and he grinned against my lips. I began to move my hands down through his hair towards his neck when a static crackle momentarily deafened my right ear.

"Alexis what the hell are you doing!" Natalia screamed into my ear. I put my hands on Gambit's hands and pushed slightly and he stepped away, looking hurt. I sent him an apologetic look, then out my hand to my receiver.

"So you finally decide to get in touch then? Do you have any idea of the civil war going on down here? Everybody's taking up arms and Skye was killed!" I screamed back at her. Gambit looked at me confused. I shook my head at him and mouthed 'not now' at him. He nodded slightly and pulled out his playing cards, fiddling with them.

"Don't you dar-" She began but Stark interrupted

"Sorry about Little Red, her tempers matching her hair today." A thud resounded across the connection, obviously Tony being punched by said red head. "The connection took a while to get back up 'cause Pierce had some sort of telecommunications barrier set up. With Loki and Bruce's help we managed to break through it. Speaking of Loki, with my help he managed to find the kill switch. It's quite well hidden but you'll manage to find it."

"Where is it Stark?" I hissed. I wasn't happy about their timing.

"Alright, don't turn out like Red just 'because I interrupted your make-out session. You could do better but-"

"STARK!" Gambit's head flicked up, looking worryingly at me.

My team is sitting right above it. If you can get close to them we can guide you from there."

"Fine where are they." I sat down on the curb and patted the space next to me. After looking around cautiously Gambit came and sat next to me. I leant on his shoulder and he stiffly put his arm around me. Damn them from interrupting.

"Go to the top of 91st and you should be at a park. Go left until you reach a place called the Sailors and Soldiers Monument. It's a ruin but most of it is still standing. The kill switch is under one of the fallen slabs next to where my team are. We'll contact you once you're near." I sighed and cut off the connection. Gambit looked at me expectantly.

"You have connection with your mentor." He said. It was more a statement than a question.

"Yes. I have contact with everyone." I said quietly. I didn't know what this information would mean to him.

"Why? Why don't the rest of us?" He sounded angry.

"Because I'm on a different job than the rest of you, one which requires a lot more thought and pressure." It was the simplest way of putting it.

"Still, are you getting paid more? What makes you special?" The last bit hurt, a lot.

"Compartmentalization I suppose." I got up and began to head up W91, and Gambit shouted out behind me, "Where are you going?" I turned around and saw him giving me puppy eyes.

"To finish my job. Are you coming?" He nodded and jogged up behind me, as he reached me he slipped my hand into mine.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Not always what we expect

We lightly jogged along the street, hands still linked although our other hands were resting on our weapons. As we reached the end of the street and turned left, we unlinked our hands and slowed down, keeping low. I notched an arrow and Gambit got his cards ready and we slunk along the line of trees. Through the breaks in the cover I could see the ruin of the Soldier's monument. It looked like some of the buildings I'd seen in the Capitol; the style was called Greecian I think. It must have had columns originally, and there was a small spiral staircase leading up to it. The trees ran out about 30 meters before the monument, but just before they ran out, the coverage became very thick. I increased my speed into a slow run and using a bench as leverage, jumped into the canopy of the trees. Gambit stood at the base of the tree and kept guard. I could see from his posture that he was extremely tense; I began to wish I'd never let him form an alliance. If I hadn't, his life would be in so much less danger than it was now. If I failed to end the stimulation, the chances were that we would be dead. If Loki didn't disconnect the stimulation quick enough, when I set it to self-destruct me and Gambit would be blown sky high. I peeked out through the leaves, and couldn't see Steve's team. I connect my com back up, luckily Clint was about to answer it.

"Are you there yet?" He asked.

"Of course I am why else would I be trying to contact you?" I hissed, trying not to alert anyone to my presence.

"Calm down. Sheesh, no wonder you're on Nat's team." I could imagine him running his hand through his hair. It was a habit I'd noticed during training. "So where exactly in the area are you? Are you in the ruins?"

"No I'm up a tree about 30 meters away. I haven't got a visual on anyone other than Gambit."

"So he's still around then? Well good on him. You need to head to the very centre of the ruins. Tony's team is in the north end of the ruins, so if you head straight up the path to the ruins you should avoid them. Stark's set up a system with the com that starts beeping when you're within 50 meters of the central unit. The faster the beeping, the closer you are. Well, that's what I think the idea is. He was speaking tech."

I stifled a laugh. To people who didn't get computers trying to understand is like trying to cook a wedding cake without a recipe. Gambit crouched down, and looked down at him worriedly. He put his finger to his lips, and then motioned towards the ruins. Tony's team must have been on the move.

"Clint I've got to go. I'll make contact once we've reached the unit." I turned the com back off. I silently climbed down and landed lightly of the balls of my feet next to Gambit. I looked towards where he was pointing and saw a group of 3, all armed. Luckily they were heading away from us.

"We need to get to the centre. Let's go." I whispered then began to move. Gambit followed me closely as we traversed the ruins, ducking and weaving through the marble chucks. The sun was low in the sky, which caused the marble to sparkle slightly. It also cast long shadows, giving us places to hide. The beeping began once we entered the ruins, growing more and more frequent as we got closer to the centre. Finally as we got to one extremely large piece, the beeping began to become unbearably high pitched. I gritted my teeth and called the team. I didn't get an answer. I started to panic, and tried calling.

"They're not picking up." I said worriedly to Gambit. He was examining the slab of marble.

"The central unit must be under hear." he said. His red eyes were glowing brightly in the dark. I glanced round quickly, checking for Steve's teams return, and then crouched down to look with him.

"Probably. Should we try and get under it?" He nodded and I moved next to him. We dug our fingers under and on the count of 3, tried to lift. It was extremely heavy but after struggling, we managed to lift it 90 degrees, so it rested on its other side. I brushed away the dirt from under it, uncovering a metal panel. I scrabbled round the edges of it, but couldn't find a handle.

"We need a key." Gambit said. I looked at him, momentarily confused. He pointed to a slight indent in the metal, which was barely noticeable. I ran my fingers over it, trying to get a feel of it. After a moment of thought I realized what the shape was.

_Meanwhile, outside the stimulation._

The team took the elevator up to the top floor. When they'd originally started the mission, they'd come up with a code name: the avengers initiative. Natalia had thought of it, telling them her childhood tale of a team who'd saved the world. Even though what they were doing wasn't as big as that, they thought it was pretty cool considering they had the same names. The elevator pinged, and the doors opened out onto Pierce's private floor. In the centre of the room was a table of scared techs who were furiously working on the games. Around each of their heads was a band, with nodes on their temples. Mind control. Pierce was pacing about, talking to the techs.

"Look out the window , you know how the game works: disorder, war, all it takes is one step. After the fall, we rebuilt to avoid corruption. But corruption is unavoidable. It is what we crave, the wrongness of it all. When the general public find out, there will be outrage, an uprising. They will crave revenge, and I will give it to them. They will worship me and I will bring order to the millions by sacrificing a 100. They will be fre-"

"This isn't freedom, this is fear." Steve said, leaving the elevator first. They fanned out, Nat and Clint next, then Bruce and Thor. Tony was with Loki keeping an eye on the systems. Each was armed with their choice weapon.

Natalia smirked. "Sorry, did we step on your moment?" she took out her hand pistols, aimed them at Pierce, and headed over to the central computer which was displaying the games. Currently Tony's team was shown hunting. She began typing furiously as the team spread out around the table of techs and Pierce. Clint trained his bow on Pierce, standing right behind him, while Bruce ducked under the table to disconnect the mind control. Thor stood guard at the door with some kind of hammer while Steve stood opposite, shield in hand.

"Nice little band you've got here. I thought you'd be trouble. You don't realize that all this" Pierce gestured around the room. "Is for your own good? For the world's good? "

"No it's not. It's for your gain. Now shut it down." Steve growled.

"It's too late. Once the games are in motion they can't be stopped and anyway, you need to be alpha level agents to even get past the fire wall." He mocked, arms folded.

"Well it's a good job we've got one then" Thor moved out the doorway to let Fury in. He was no longer in a suit; instead he was wearing a large billowing leather coat and boots.

"It's over Pierce. The games are going down." Fury said, instantly taking charge.

"It's the next step Nick. If you have the courage to take it."

Nat felt a buzzing in her ear but ignored it. Alexis could wait a minute.

"No, I have the courage not to." Fury said, removing his eye patch. "If you want to stay ahead of me, you have to keep both eyes open." He turned to the computer, letting it take a retinal scan of his damaged eye. Clint nudged Pierce forward, forcing him to do the same. Once both scans were accepted a message came on the screen.

Firewall disabled

Natalia smiled at Clint as a small image of Loki and Tony came up on the corner of the screen.

"You're speech would have sounded at lot better if you'd mentioned that we craved subjugation, instead of corruption. A lot more interesting I think." Loki said. Tony grinned, and then pointed a part of the code out to Look, which he edited.

"Sugar, we're going down!" Tony sang. He smiled, and laughed. "Ready to call Alexis up?"

Natalia nodded and connected up the com to the computer. Bruce finished disconnecting the techs and led then out the room to the Med bay.

_Inside the stimulation_

I reached up round my neck and unclipped the necklace. She placed it within the dimple, but it didn't fit properly. Gambit gently took it out of my hands.

"You have to open it." He unclasped it with a slight click, and pressed against the dimple.

"There was nothing in it?" I asked, surprised.

"No. You've never opened it?" I shook my head. The metal plate made a slight pop as it opened. Gambit unclicked the locket and passed it back to me. I examined the inside and saw he was right, it was empty. Gambit lifted the metal plate and inside was a large bundle of wires. My com then decided to connect up.

"Alexis, its Loki. You're into the system, correct?" He sounded impatient.

"Affirmative." Just as the last rays of light disappeared, I noticed a small golden glint. I searched in the dust and found a tint, golden key. I pocketed the key and examined the wires, trying to find the central power chord.

"You need to get the thin red cable and the thick blue cable, and then connect the endings. You then have a minute to get out of there. "

"I've got it."

I dig through the cable and managed to locate the blue one but found 2 thin red ones.

"Loki there's two red ones. I'm not sure which one to cut."

I heard Stark swear in the background.

"Are you sure?" Loki questioned.

"Yes I'm sure. What'll happen if I cut the wrong one?"

"It'll all blow up in your face and you'll both die, and all our work will be for nothing." Tony took over the com.

Gambit nudged me. "It's this one." He pointed to the one in my left hand.

"Why?" I whispered back.

"The right one has small gold bands around it."

I studied it and couldn't see them. "Where? I can't see any."

"I have good night vision. Here." He placed his thumb nail against one part. I looked even closer and saw in fact, there were.

"You're a genius" I said and pecked him on the cheek. "Loki we've got it. I'm going to connect it now."

I got out my knife and spliced both cables. I exposed the wires and twisted them together. I slammed the plate down, grabbed Gambit's hand and began to run. We ran through the marble, Loki frantically talking over the com to Stark while keeping a countdown.

"15, 14, 13..." he counted down. Then I stumbled and fell, pulling Gambit down with me. My ankle hurt, I thought I'd broken it. Gambit got to his feet, then tried to help me up, but I couldn't. I tried to put weight on my ankle but couldn't.

"4, 3, 2, 1"

A sudden flash and it all went dark.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Okay quick writing code: italics is during and after the stimulation, the bold is Alexis during her coma, and the normal is present. This chapter isn't in Alexis's POV because that wouldn't have worked. Enjoy, and please take note of the A/N at the end.**

Thor arrested Pierce and hauled him out the room. Natalia was talking quickly to Stark, conferring over Alexis's information.

"There are two red wires? Not likely. The markings are probably too small to distinguish. "Natalia said, dragging things across the screen. To everyone in the room she looked calm and collected, but Clint noticed she was tense. Small movements clued him in, like the fact her hair was in her eyes but she hadn't tried to move it. She was tenser than after Alexi had died. Clint went over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder and even though she didn't visibly respond, she leant back slightly into it.

"You were right. She's connected it." Stark informed them. Natalia breathed a sigh of relief. Her part was done. She turned round and lent on Clint, who wrapped his strong arms round her and held her close.

Then Loki started shouting.

"The software isn't connecting! It won't be done it time."

Natalia spun round and instantly began typing, talking down the com.

"Have you tried rerouting the server?"

"I've tried everything, we're not going to finish it."

The whole room fell into a sombre silence. It had to work, otherwise Pierce would win. They'd found evidence to suggest Pierce had been conditioning a man called Sitwell to take over if he was captured, so they couldn't fail.

"Stark any ideas? " she tried to stay calm but couldn't; she was falling apart. She had so much more to lose than the others: Alexi's vengeance, her mother. She didn't want to let them down.

"Nothing. I'm sorry."

"You're meant to be a genius!" She screamed. Tears began falling down her face and her typing slowed down until she stopped completely.

"Nat come on. We can't do anything else here. Let's go down to the stimulation rooms and check on everyone's bodies." Clint murmured in her ear. She nodded and he led her away. The room was empty except for the video connection to the lab room, which was silent.

**My body hurt. It ached and stung. I couldn't move anything. I was dying. I'd failed.**

**Death was bright. A bright sparkling white. I could hear a regular beeping, like that of a heart rate monitor. There were voices, my family's voices.**

**"Baby wake up. Please wake up." My dad's voice pleaded. How come he was here?**

**"Alexis fight! You've made it this far."**

**Why was Cath here? She would never risk Dad finding out, and anyway, why did she do that to him?**

**"We won princess, we won." Gambit whispered. Whatever I was lying on dipped and his familiar scent filled my nose. I tried to move towards him, to be close to him but couldn't; tangles of wires held me down, sending pain through my body whenever I moved.**

**"Stay still princess. You need to get better. Just open those beautiful eyes for me." He pleaded. I tried but couldn't. In some ways I didn't want to. I could feel them in the room, waiting for me to do something. I just lay there. I felt cold, numb to their wishes. Eventually they left, albeit reluctantly. I embraced the darkness that lurked round the edge of my mind. It was warm, peaceful; everything that I thought was safe. I finally had everything that the game wasn't, and it was mine, and mine only.**

**The monitor flat lined.**

Clint and Natalia looked over the bodies. There were so many. Tony's team and Bucky were beginning to wake up; they'd escaped the blast and were able to escape the stimulation. Clint went over to check them and took them up to Bruce in the Med bay. As he passed her, Natalia smiled grimly at Bucky; he didn't return it. She went round each body, checking for a pulse. There were none. She finally reached Gambit and Alexis. They were the biggest lost. She crouched down and checked both at the same time. There was an extremely faint pulse for each.

"Bruce get down here, they're alive!" She said into the com. Gambit's pulse was a little stronger than Alexis's, but then again he had a larger body. Bruce came straight down with the Med team, and took them upstairs. Gambit had minimal injuries and had just been knocked out, but Alexis had borne the brunt of the explosion.

"She has 3rd degree burns on 50% of her body, 3 fractured ribs, a pierced lung, and possible brain damage. There's a strong chance she won't make it through the night." Bruce admitted to the team after hooking Alexis up to multiple machines and taking multiple test samples.

"But you'll try, won't you?" Thor said.

"Of course but the chances are extremely low."

Gambit woke up after an hour and instantly panicked, looking for Alexis. He was allowed in, along with her family. They stayed with her until Bruce kicked them out, telling them they needed to rest. Then she flat lined. Gambit spun around to go back in but one of the medical team stopped him, they said he couldn't go in. He banged his fists against the glass, screaming her name. Bruce set up the defibrillator and shouted out, "Clear!" He placed them on her chest and her body jumped off the bed as the shock went through her body. He did it 2, 3 times. She was still flat lining. He said something to one of the doctors, who took his place. He came out the room, head hung low.

"I'm sorry but she's gone. There's nothing else to do. She's dead." Bruce said softly. "I'm sorry." He turned and left, apparently to tell the team. Alexis's dad slid down the wall and sat on the floor, knees to his chest and head in his hands. Cath simply walked off without saying anything but had tears dripping down her cheeks. Gambit stood, frozen, muttering under his breath.

"No she can't be. She can't. She would fight. No. No. No." He sobbed. He rested his forehead against the viewing glass, his breathe misting it as the morgue team wheeled her body out the back door. She was gone.

2 months later

The public knew. Natalia took the press conference, and also represented Shield Inc. in an interrogation by the security committee.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" A committee member asked.

"I do." Natalia answered, face blank. Gambit and Clint were in the stands, watching. She sat down on one side of the circular table; the 6 members of the committee sat on the other.

"Miss Romonova, would you like to explain how this corruption was allowed to happen within Shield Inc., and why the Government wasn't informed of the occurring?" The main spokesperson asked.

"How did the Government allow this to happen is a question you should be asking; the whole military section was corrupted, and the technology sector was being affected as well?"

"All the people involved in the supposed take down of these 'games' had been previously involved in them. How do we know you're not selling us lies?"

"Miss Romonova, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record during the games that you belong in a penitentiary, not mouthing off the Government." Another of the committee said.

"You're not gonna put me in a prison. You're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?"

"Do enlighten us." The General said sarcastically.

"You need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we helped make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So if you want to arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me."

She shoved her chair back and strode out, the press hot on her heels. Clint followed her instantly, but Gambit waited for the crowd to go before following. He thought he saw a flash of Alexis's black hair but told himself he was imaging it. It happened a lot; once he even thought she was standing right in front of him, but a car went past and she was gone. One night he met up with Bucky, and they talked about Skye and Alexis over a few drinks. Both of those had become introverts, cutting off everyone who hadn't been in the games. They both lived in the Capitol and were helping to rebuild Shield. Bucky shared a room with Steve, and they were becoming closer and closer. Gambit shared with Clint, and quite often spoke to Natalia. That's why he was here today; to support one of the closest links to Alexis he had. Her dad had returned to the Fringes, saying he wanted to be back where he felt he belonged. They hadn't seen Cath since the day at the hospital, but Natalia's mother had contacted them to say she'd returned, and was ok.

He was brought out of his daze by a tap on the back. It was a small girl, with brown hair pulled back into bunches and a fringe which fell into her eyes. She had bright blue eyes and was carrying a small package.

"A parcel for you, sir." She said quietly. Gambit crouched down and took it off her.

"Thank you. Who asked you to give it to me?" He asked, putting the package in his pocket. "What did they look like?"

"Tallish, black hair, black eyes. She was scary." The small girl admitted.

"Thanks again. You can go now." The little girls nodded, bunches bobbing, and ran off. Gambit stood and rested his hand on his pocket. It couldn't be, could it? Whose sick idea of a joke was it?

That evening

He walked up to the alley, looking around warily. It didn't look too out of place, this was the slightly run down part of Society which backed onto the bottom of a stone cliff. He went to the end and waited, as he'd been told. He's opened the package when he got home, and inside it was Alexis's necklace. He'd opened it. There was a note inside.

_Come to Forthor Alley at sun down tonight. Make sure you're not followed. Bring the necklace with you._

He looked around, trying to spot any signs of life. Out of the shadows stepped the little girl.

"Come on, we have a game to play!" She said, giggling. She grabbed Gambit's hand and pulled him into the shadows with her. She went through a small door, which Gambit had to duck through, and led him through a rabbit warren of tunnels. Eventually they reached a large cavernous room which was bustling with activity. There were rows upon of rows of computers, all with people tap, tapping away at them. They were all turned towards the outside of the room, and all the activity was projected onto a large screen. A woman with her hair pulled back into a tight was controlling everyone, pointing out things.

"Amazing isn't it." An amused voice from behind him said. He turned round and saw Alexis leaning against a railing, arms crossed with a smirk across her face. She was wearing a skin tight blue jump suit, which she had unzipped to just under her bust revealing the black vest she had on underneath. Her knives were hanging off a belt at her waist along with a Glock 26 in a thigh holster. Her bow was slung off her back along with her quiver. She smirked as Gambit's jaw literally dropped; she took a step forward and closed it for him.

"You're, you're alive! How? I saw the machine flat line." He stuttered. She shrugged.

"Good publicity, having a martyr for the cause. It was also decided that my skills were too good to be publicly known. Officially I don't exist." Her eyes kept flickering towards the code on the board.

"User 4, Line 26, characters 46-78 need to be deleted. It should be a countdown." She called out. The user in question spun looked at her in confusion over their shoulder. She stared at them. "You're writing the code for a bomb, not a shopping list." The agent blushed and quickly deleted the code. She looked back at Gambit, who was still staring at her in awe.

"But you died. I saw you die. I was there. The stimulation went wrong; they didn't get us out in time." Gambit repeated. The fact that she was still alive hadn't fully sunk in.

"I didn't die. Tetradotoxin B. Slows the pulse to 1 beat a minute. Bruce had been working on it for a while for those with anger issues, but in this case it was used to fake my death."

Another agent, this time in a lab coat, came over to ask her something. Gambit looked out at the screen, pretending to be occupied while they talked quickly about something called Insight Anthrax. Once they'd gone, she continued.

"As for the stimulation shut down, it did work, only it was last second. Tony had left his game of Galaga open in another tab which was slowing the computer virus they were using to slow down. He realized just in time, which shut down the Games. The flash of white was the virus coming into effect, not it blowing up."

Gambit couldn't accept her answer though. "Why go through all that though? Why make your family think your dead, make me think your dead, to do this?" He waved his hand at the board. "Why aren't you out there trying to help?" He was beginning to raise his voice, which was drawing attention to them. The woman running it all shot Alexis a dirty look, so she dragged Gambit into an alcove on the side.

"I am trying to help! My skills are more of use in here than out there. You have no idea how big the corruption was." She hissed at him.

"Then what the hell are you doing Princess?" He grabbed onto her arm, and she yanked it back. It was becoming a habit between the two of them.

"Gambit, I asked you down here so you knew I was alive, but if you're going to be awkward I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He looked at her in amazement.

"You wouldn't do that."

"I would." She poked her head out and looked around. No one was there. She reached up and kissed him. It wasn't a particularly spectacular kiss, but they put all their longing and feelings into it. Halfway through a siren wend off, and a device on Alexis's wrist began to beep.

"Stercum." Alexis cursed. "I've got to go. I'll let you know when you can see me again." She began to run off, shouting orders at agents.

"Get that bird out of the air! Maria we've got two unauthorized flights and a bug in our system." Alexis was just about to run down the stairs to the main area, when Gambit called out.

"Alexis!" She stopped and turned slightly, eyes gazing intensely at him. "I love you." Her mouth popped open slightly into a small 'O'. She looked round at Maria, who was pointing at stuff and talking into a com. She ran back at leaned into his ear and whispered, "I love you too." She pecked him lightly on the lips then ran to the steps and jumped over the rails and landed lightly on the floor. She instantly started examining the nearest computer, pointing out things to the agent. Gambit watched her, admiring her determination. A small tug on his clothes alerted him to the small girl again, who he followed out. As he was leaving, he thought he saw Tony and Loki in one of the labs, suspiciously close to each other. So everyone except him was in one it.

He was left in the alley and made his way back to Shield Inc. He packed up his stuff and left. He returned to his family in Society. He got a normal job and moved on. He couldn't spend his life waiting for Alexis to call him whenever she was free. He loved her but he had to let her go. Her life revolved around Shield and saving the world; how could he help her with that? He found a new girl and got a good job in IT, and began to let the past become that

That was until he got a phone call 2 years later.

"Gambit. We need you to come in."

**A/N so it's over! What did you think of the chapter? So here's the thing: I left it hanging so if you guys want, when AOU comes out I could write a sequel with that story-line? It's up to you guys. Thank you so much for reading and sticking it out.**

**Ciao Peeps**


	12. an

**a/n heya the sequel to this is up; it's called Phoenix From The Ashes. Hope you enjoy it!**


End file.
